Finding Danielle
by Artgirl4
Summary: What starts with Danny finding Danielle, makes its way through both teenagers new lives together. This will be the tale of the Two Phantoms, as they learn to face challenges together, kick ghost butt, and just be a great brother and sister. Post PP!
1. Finding Danielle Episode List

Dani

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. In fact, I do not own much of anything. Heck, I barely even own this computer. Hey, I'll Say it, I'm a LONG SHOT from BUTCH HARTMAN PEOPLE!**

**Finding Danielle Episode List**

**A/N: ****This story is firmly based upon 'Tales from Phantom Planet', a fanfic many of you are probably very familiar with. This basically implies that throughout the story, the 77 people that found out Danny's identity signed a contract to not tell anyone his secret. Among the people that found out are Mr. Lancer, Valerie, and Mr. Gray, Valerie's Dad. **

**Tucker was a replacement mayor for the time being. He is now back to being plain old Tucker, our favorite Techno-Geek, who is currently mourning the loss of his political position. And, because I hate to dissapoint you DXS fans out there, of course Sam and Danny are currently dating! YAY! Well, onward with the episode list then!**

**Chapter 2: D. Phantoms Theme Song!**

1. Finding Danielle – Danny is on a new mission: To find Danielle! Now it's up to him to find his cousin somewhere in the ghost zone, and convince her to come back with him. But can he make it through the hardest part of it all: Introducing her to his parents?!!

**In Chapters: 3 - 6**

2. Starting School – Dani has to start school. The catch? As Dani Phantom.

**In Chapters: 7 – 9**

3. Dani's Debut – School's been great, but now the ghost's are back! When Dani is outted and the relationship between the Fentons and the Phantoms is revealed, will the group have a little too much on their plate?

**In Chapters: 10 - **

4. Sticky Spandex - After Dani gets called Danny's clone, she starts making drastic changes to her outfits and attitude. But she isn't the only one affected, cause now she's dragging Danny into it too!

**In Chapters: **

5. Sickly Phantom – When Danny catches a monster cold and Valerie goes out of town for a much-needed break, Dani will be put in the spotlight. Will she shine, or crash and burn with the startling realization of how hard it truly is to be a Phantom?!

**In Chapters: **


	2. D Phantoms Theme Song!

**Just so you are aware, I did make sure the timing and beat matches the lyrics. So if the readers can't imagine the rappers of the theme song saying this, then I don't think it's because of me…but maybe because of my bad lyrics! XD, tell me what you think!**

**D. Phantoms Theme Song!**

**whisper**

***he's a phantom***

***danny Phan- Danny phan- danny phantom***

**Yo Danny Phantom he was just 14 when his parents built a very**

**strange machine**

**Designed to view a world unseen**

**(he's gonna catch em all cuz he's danny phantom phantom)**

**When it didnt quite work his**

**folks they just quit then Danny took a look inside of it**

**there was a great big flash **

**everything just changed**

**his molecules got all rearranged**

**(phantom phantom)**

**When he first woke up he had realized he had snow white hair **

**and glowin green eyes**

**he could walk through walls **

**dissappear and fly**

**he was much more unique then the other guys **

**and it was then danny knew what he had to do **

**he had to stop all the ghosts that were comin through **

**he's here to fight for me and u**

**(he's gonna catch em all cuz he's danny phantom gonna catch em all **

**cuz he's danny phantom gonna catch em all cuz he's)**

**But wait! Whose there? A Phantom is Back!**

**She's new, she's hot, she's off the rack!**

**With Phantomx2 they can't be beat!**

**Dani Phantom with an "I",'s gonna bring the heat!**

**(They're gonna catch em all cuz they're Danny Phantoms, they're gonna catch em all cuz they're danny phantoms, they're gonna catch em all cuz they're-)**

**Danny Phantoms.**


	3. Finding Danielle Part 1

**Okay Warning! You guys have GOT TO READ THIS PART FIRST!!!!! This is based on the fanfiction: Tales from Phantom Planet. As in: The 77 people that saw Danny transform signed an unofficial contract that they wouldn't tell his secret. After a long talk, Valerie is now a part of Team Phantom. Mr. Lancer was on of the 77 people that saw him transform. Sam and him are dating. His parents know and accept him. Tucker was only temporarily Mayor. There! NOW READ!**

**Finding Danielle Part 1**

Danny tossed and turned in his sleep. Finally he shot up awake and looked at the clock before groaning. A Saturday morning and he was awake at 9:00AM? And he knew he wasn't going to get anymore sleep. He kept on having the same awful dream. And he knew it wasn't going to go away until he found her.

"Hello sweetie! I hope no ghosts interrupted your sleep tonight!" Maddie said as Danny flopped down into his chair and started wolfing down his pancakes.

"Actually there were a few, but it was fine. Just the box ghost and Technus, trying to rob a software store." Danny said, then looked up to Maddie and Jack's blank looks.

"Remind me to show you the ghost files on my computer some time." Danny said, and went back to eating his pancakes as Jack visible brightened.

"Danny, I really do worry about your health. You need to get more sleep!" Maddie said, her brow furrowing.

"Yeah well, there isn't much I could do about it Mom. Ghosts attack whenever they want to. Not when I want them to, which is never. Besides, I'm not about to wake you two up while you're sleeping because I'm feeling lazy. I don't want you guys getting hurt." Danny said, smiling.

Maddie smiled back warmly, as well as Jack. "Danny! You're growing up so fast! I'm so proud of you sweetie! But you need your sleep!" Maddie said, but she could see that Danny wasn't listening anymore. He did that when he wanted to make it clear it was of no use. Stubborn as a mule.

"So…I kind of have to go do something today. I've been putting it off ever since the disasteroid, and now I've got to go and do it." Danny said, being vague.

"What is it? Can we come?" Maddie and Jack said instantly.

"I'm sorry but this is a solo mission. I'm going to go find someone I've been meaning to, then bring her back here. But it requires me going into the ghost zone. You can't come, and neither is Sam, Tucker, or Jazz." Danny said firmly, shaking his head.

"Danny, who is this girl you speak of?" Maddie said worriedly.

"She's…the third halfa I mentioned." Danny said, and instantly Maddie was relieved. When Danny had spoken of her, he spoke so protectively of this girl, that Maddie wanted more than anything to meet her. Maddie knew that Danny probably thought of this girl as family, and was proud of him for liking this girl so much as to bring her here. Maddie knew he would love her.

"Danny, there's just one thing. Why do you have to go alone? Why not bring some of us with you?" Maddie said, concerned.

"It's just something I have to do." Danny said seriously, then smiled goofily. "Don't worry Mom, I'll be fine!" He said. It amazed Maddie how quickly he could act like a teenager, then switch to an adult, then teenager again.

"Ok Danny…but I want you to be careful. And bring the Fenton Fones with you! And you might want to call Sam and Tucker before you go. How long will you be gone by the way?" Maddie said, her mother's intuition taking over.

"Well, it might take a day or two." Danny said, quietly, but managed to keep a straight face when his mother exploded.

"WHAT???!!!!" Danny sighed. "Mom, it might take a while to find her, because she went into hiding. It's going to take a while to reach the people who might be able to help me, and they might not even be able to, and then to actually find her. All of it takes time." Danny said, stuffing some eggs into his mouth.

"Danny, why do you have to go alone?" Maddie asked, obviously worried.

"Mom I'll be fine. Trust me when I say, this is just something I have to do. And would you promise me something?" Danny said seriously, and Maddie nodded.

"The third halfa had been through a lot. I want her welcomed here with open arms. Please let her be a part of this family. And don't try to ask Sam and Tucker about her past. It's her past, not her present. Will you let her be a part of this family?" Danny said, biting his lip.

Maddie smiled warmly, and hugged him. "Of course Danny! You obviously care for this girl, and we're more than willing to have her stay with us!" She said, and Jack nodded enthusiastically.

"Great! Now I need to call Sam and Tucker!" Danny said, and forgetting about his eggs, jumped up, and ran into his room.

---30 minutes later---

"You ready?" Sam said, handing him the Fenton Thermos in front of the Ghost Zone Portal.

"Yeah." Danny said, checking the Fenton Fones. He had told Sam and Tucker they weren't coming, and they hadn't been very happy about it. But they had understood, even if Sam was still slightly scowling.

"One more thing…" Danny said, and grabbed Sam's hand, pulling her into a kiss. When they finally pulled away, they barely acknowledged the fact that Tucker was cheering, and had pulled out his PDA to record the whole thing.

"Man I never get tired of that!" He said, grinning from ear to ear.

"What did you say Tucker?" Danny said, still not looking at Tucker but gazing at Sam. 'Ah the joy of being the third wheel.' Tucker said, and then walked up and grabbed Danny by his ear, giving it a good yank and pulling him from Sam.

"Focus Danny! You can kiss Sam later! Now you have a mission to do." He said, and Danny nodded, smiling at Sam, high fiving Tucker, and giving his parents and Jazz a hug.

"I'll be back. And she'll be with me." Danny said strongly. He had already told Tucker and Sam he didn't want his family to know anything besides Dani's gender yet. He wanted to let Dani be the one to tell her. Lately, he had been getting nightmares of Dani feeling alone, and getting hurt in the ghost zone. That's why he wanted to go get her. He wanted her to be safe.

Valerie was going to be hunting ghosts along with the others, and his parents and Team Phantom would be able to hold back the ghosts for the while he was gone.

Without saying another word Danny dived into the ghost zone. He looked in wonder at the ectoplasmic world, and the spirits roaming around in it. He smiled, and took a deep breath. Time to find Dani.

**This will be the start of Danny's adventures and bondings with Dani as he goes looking for her in the ghost zone, as she becomes part of the family, as she goes to school as Dani Phantom-and the author of New Student Phantom approved that!-and has some ghost battles, as well as a few fights with Danny! IT HAS BEGUN!**

**Artgirl4!**


	4. Finding Danielle Part 2

**WHEW! I'm on a roll here! Good thing I'm sick, otherwise I would've never found the time to do all this! Hopefully I'll start getting some good reviews…hopefully!**

**Finding Danielle Part 2**

Danny flew through the immense swirls of ectoplasm that curled around his body, trying to pull him down. He sighed, trying to look for his destination. He once again pulled out his badly drawn map.

"Let's see, I was supposed to take a left at Skulker's Island, a right at the Fright Knight's castle, and go straight past the River of Repulsion. So, I should be here, and the Far Frozen should be….there!" Danny said, and turned around. And did a face palm.

The Far Frozen had been right behind him! Danny grinned, and flew into the realm, dodging some stalactites and trying not to hit any sharp icy points. He increased his speed until he had reached the village.

As soon as he landed, the tribe people began to take notice of him.

"It is the Great One!" "He has returned!" "Someone alert Frostbite!" "You think I can have his autograph?" Came the whispers of the awed people. They began to crowd around Danny, trying to get a word in. Fortunately, Frostbite heard all the commotion and saw Danny.

"Greetings oh Great One! What brings you here?" He said, as everyone caught his eye and departed, mumbling incoherent things. Danny smiled and shook Frostbite's outstretched hand. Frostbite had different plans however, and swept the surprised boy into a bear (or big snow yeti) hug.

"Hi Frostbite. I'm here because I actually need your help." Danny said, and Frostbite bowed.

"Of course! I would be glad to be of service? What do you require?" He said, placing his furry (and quite cold) paw on Danny's shoulder. Danny hesitated.

"I was wondering…whether you could help me find a certain ghost that goes by the name of Dani Phantom." Danny said, looking at frostbite seriously. Frostbite's eyes seemed to brim with confusion, until he grinned widely, showing off his long rows of sharp teeth.

"Of course! The location is simple. You are in the Far Frozen realm, home of the Far Frozen tribe. You are approximately 35 miles from the Fenton Portal and-" "Frostbite! I don't think you understood me." Danny said, grinning and shaking his head. Frostbite cocked his head.

"Well, unless you mean, spiritually Great One? Have you lost your inner self? I'm afraid we don't have a great psychologist, but I may be able to help-" "Frostbite! I don't mean like that! Look, let me explain." Danny said, rolling his eyes. He smiled again.

"When I say Dani Phantom, I mean Danielle Phantom. She is…a relative of mine. I have reason to believe she's in the ghost zone, and I want to find her. Would the infi-map be able to give me her location?" Danny said as a look of understanding crossed over the big yeti's face.

Danny did have reason to believe Dani was in the ghost zone. His dreams about her were so realistic, he would definitely be able to call them visions, instead of dreams. And then again, it was more like nightmares. He cringed, just thinking about them.

"It might be so. If you wish to find your relative, then you might have to clarify more whom exactly she is, or the map might direct you to yourself." Frostbite said, and led Danny to the cave that held the infi-map.

"Do you need me to guide you?" Frostbite said, holding the infi-map, and handing it to Danny carefully.

"I'll be fine. I'll be sure to return it as soon as I'm done. Thanks Frostbite." Danny said, and Frostbite made a small nodding gesture with his head. Danny directed his attention to the infi-map, as holographic purple doors came popping out from it.

"Take me to Danielle Phantom." Danny said firmly, and with a flash, he was gone. He watched as the Far Frozen zoomed away from his view, and as he passed Walker's prison, and as it too became a speck. Danny watched as he passed by an area full of floating doors, and as he passed Pandora's home.

Soon Danny was in an unidentifiable area, near a floating rock that had a cave. Danny slowly floated to it, landing cautiously. He walked up to the cave.

"Danielle? It's me Danny!" He called out, walking into the cave, holding up an ectoplasmic ball as a light.

Danny got no response. "Danielle!" He yelled again. He suddenly reached a dead end. But Danny knew better. He quickly turned human and walked past the thick rocky wall. He looked around.

He was floating in a dirty rocky area, that was covered in grime and filth. But what he paid the most attention to was a bundled up ghost in the far corner.

"Danielle, is that you?" He said, tucking the infi-map in a fold in his jumpsuit.

"Danny?" The ghost said weakly, and slowly uncurled. It was Danielle. She looked sick, and her suit was covered in dirt. Dark bags surrounded her eyes. She tried to get up, but Danny instead scooped her into his arms.

"Oh Dani! Look at you! What happened?" He said, shifting her in his arms, and sitting down. Her head was resting on his shoulder, and she blushed at the close proximity.

"I'm fine Danny. Really." She whispered, but it wasn't very convincing when she broke into a coughing fit.

"That's it. I'm not leaving you alone ever again." Danny said. Dani knew he was joking, but something in his tone sounded half-serious.

"What happened?" He demanded, and shifted again so that Dani was as comfortable as possible leaning on him.

"I got something the equivalent to an ecto-flu. It's been draining my energy for a long time, and making me really weak. A ghost attacked while I was in the human world, and somehow it brought me back into the ghost zone. I managed to lose the big hairy thing, but I almost got fried by some other ghosts. I had to hide out here." Dani said, looking up into Danny's worried eyes.

"You don't know how much I missed you." She said, hugging him. Danny smiled and hugged her back.

"I missed you too Dani." He said, hugging her tight. Dani smiled.

"Why are you here anyway?" She said, breaking the hug. Danny ruffled her hair, which made her swat his hand away, irritated, but playfully.

"I kept on feeling like you were having a hard time and went to go look for you." He said, and Dani smirked. "Well it took you long enough!" She said playfully, punching his arm lightly. They both laughed.

"So…what now?" She said, getting up slowly, swaying ever so lightly. Danny pulled her back down gently.

"For now, we're going to rest." He said, and letting her use him as a bed, they quietly started to drift off to slumber land.

----

When Danny woke up, the first thing he felt, was a 95 pound sack on his body. When he opened his eyes, the 95 pound sack turned into a 95 pound sleeping girl. Danny smiled, and gently phased himself through her, letting her sleep a little longer.

He phased out of the secret room in the cave, and looked outside. It still looked like night, but Danny knew better. He checked his watch. He had reached Danielle around 4:00PM in the afternoon, they had fallen asleep around 6:00PM, and now it was 8:00AM. Danny smiled. Maybe it would be better to give Dani a little more time to rest.

Danny suddenly remembered something, and felt for the inside fold of his jumpsuit, and relaxed immediately when he felt the worn fabric of the infi-map. He walked back into the cave, and took a first-aid kit that he had also had in the fold of his jumpsuit (A/N: Those cartoon producers can make stuff appear out of thin air then so can I! Just imagine it's a really big pocket!).

He then knelt by Dani, and took out a small little case hidden under the anesthetic wipes. He opened the little case and took our a small green bottle, squeezing some of the goop into his hand and slowly rubbing it on her nose, eyes, and mouth.

Danny silently thanked Wulf while he worked, knowing that the big beast had tried to help Dani, but was unable. He also silently thanked himself, for he had had a bad ecto-flu a while ago, and Dora had given him that bottle, a cure that was supposed to help release the unwanted ectoplasm from the body (not in a disgusting way you people who think bad thoughts!!!!).

All the while Dani slept like a comfortable girl-shaped rock, not in a way unlike Danny.

At about 10:00AM Dani stirred. She rubbed her eyes, yawning and blinked when she saw Danny. She carefully stretched, wincing a little. Then she really acknowledged him.

"So, what's the plan?" She said, giving him a light hug that he returned. "Good morning to you too Sleeping Beauty." He said, laughing, while Dani scrunched her nose.

He continued, "We're going to FentonWorks, and you are going to stay there with us." He said, firmly, while Dani's eyes widened.

"Danny, I couldn't. I mean, your family-" "-Is willing to be your family too." He said, looking her in the eye, and smiling reassuringly. He sat down and gestured her to sit down next to him.

"Dani, I didn't tell them who you were, or what you are. And you don't have to. But I promise you, and I mean promise you, that they will accept you. They want you to be a part of their family. And Dani, you may be my clone, but I know you, and you are different from me." Danny said, and stopped when he noticed Dani was frowning.

"That was one of my flaws. I wasn't entirely like you trait-wise. I didn't like all the same things like you, and was also feminine. That's what Vlad hated about me. Your family will hate that too. Danny they don't even know me!" Dani said, burying her face in her lap.

Danny cupped her face towards him. "Dani listen to me. You are your own person. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You have every right to be yourself. Vlad is gone. And he isn't coming back. Don't think about what he said about you, because everything he said is wrong. We're all flawed, even me. No one is perfect. And they don't need to know you. My mother wants you there, she said it herself. They know that if I care about you, then they'll love you."

"And being different from me isn't a bad thing. I remember that one of the things you really love is too learn. I want you to come back. I want you to have a warm caring family. I want you to have an education, and a warm bed. Dani, I want you to be with me." He said, smiling, and wasn't able to prepare himself in time for the hug Dani gave him, tackling him to the ground.

Dani rubbed her eyes of the wet tears that were clinging there, and laughed. "Thank you Danny." She said, hugging him. Danny smile, and together they flew out of the cave.

Danny took the infi-map out of his pocket, and they were instantly beamed to the Far Frozen, where Frostbite greeted them. He was ecstatic to meet the 'sister' of the Great One, and no one said anything about the falsehood of his words. Dani smiled when he said it, for no apparent reason. It just made her feel pretty good.

Before they left, Frostbite gave Danielle a drink that made her feel a lot better. Most of her wounds were healed, the ecto-flu almost completely gone, and she no longer felt hungry or thirsty.

They left quickly, Danny and her arguing a few times over the directions. Dani kept on pointing out that the Fenton Portal could easily be a thumbprint, and that they should ask for directions. Danny kept on saying how he remembered writing down the Fenton Portal, it just looked like it was smudging, and he knew exactly where they were going…mostly.

Eventually they just started laughing over the whole thing, and continued on their way. Danny managed to reach Skulker's Island with her, and they stopped to rest by it. Probably not the best idea.

It was now 1:00PM. His parents would be worried by now. Danny mentally cursed at himself for forgetting to charge the Fenton Fones. Suddenly, a green net flew out of nowhere and snatched up Danny and Danielle. The net then pulled them in, them screaming the whole way.

"What the heck is this thing??!!!" Dani yelled to Danny, her voice obviously annoyed. Danny sighed. He knew what they were, and who was holding them.

Sure enough, they both saw the towering mechanical being that held the two cords attached to their nets. "Skulker." They both growled. Dani, having a portion of Danny's memories, easily recognized the pestering ghost.

"Who is this? A female whelp? Why, she'll look great on my fireplace, along with you!" Skulker said, laughing menacingly. He stopped immediately and fumed when he realized what the two were doing.

Both Phantom's were sitting relaxed in their nets, yawning and looking bored. "Want to escape yet?" Danny asked casually.

"I don't know, maybe we should let him continue ranting." Dani said, looking very thoughtful. Skulker yelled, "ARGH!!!" And immediately grabbed the two nets, shaking them along with the Phantoms.

"Okay, I think we should escape now." Danny said, and both Phantoms heated their nets with ectoplasmic energy, until the strands broke, freeing them.

"What do we do now?" Dani said, looking at Danny for guidance. "Right now, what we do is simple. I'm too tired to fight and so are you so…RUN!!!" He yelled, and both zoomed away from a disconcerted Skulker.

"Wait! Come back! I need to hunt you!" He yelled, but wasn't fast enough to catch them. Skulker kicked at his island, denting his metal foot. For a second he looked at the twisted foot, then muttered,

"Oh, bolts."

A little while later they both arrived by the Fenton Portal, panting.

"Well, that was certainly a workout." Dani panted, and they both smiled. "You ready?" Danny asked Dani. She gulped.

"No, but I have to do this. Let's go." She said, and taking Danny's hand, they both dove through the portal.

Danny entered through the portal, but was almost catapulted back out when his mother collided with him, along with his father, yelling things like "We missed you!" "Where have you been?" "You're back!" "Are you alright?"

You ever had a fudge-obsessed man tackle you like a professional football player? Not the best experience.

"So? Where is she?" Maddie asked anxiously and excitedly after she let Danny go.

"It's great to be back Mom, just in case you were expecting an answer." Danny said, rubbing his back grouchily. Maddie gave a sheepish smile. Danny straightened, sighing when he heard a few cracks clearly coming from his back as he did so.

"Well then, may I introduce to you…eh?" He said, looking around as his parents looked at him expectantly.

"One minute please." Danny said sheepishly, then squeezed his eyes shut. His parents watched interested as he suddenly shot to his side and grabbed an invisible something, wrestling with it and slowly pulling it upstairs to the door.

"Now…is…not the time…to lose your…nerve Dani!" He grunted inbetween pants, pulling the struggling thing, closer to the door. He swung open the door with one hand, then, taking the invisible thing out of the basement, stuck his head through the door and said,

"Be…back…in a second!" And slammed it shut.

His parents stared at the door in silence.

"Maddie?"

"Yes Jack?"

"Why is it that our son just battled with his invisible friend and we aren't calling a psycho-whatsit? … Or Jazz?"

"…I don't know Jack."


	5. Finding Danielle Part 3

**Finding Danielle Part 3**

Danny slammed the door shut, and gave an sigh, looking at Dani's invisible face (he guessed where), with an exasperated expression.

"Care to explain?" He asked, clearly annoyed.

Dani flickered into visibility and looked down at the floor, not making eye contact.

"I was…afraid." She said quietly. Danny's face softened and he got down on his knees, taking Dani's hands and making her look at him.

"I promise you I will be right behind you the whole time. You don't have to tell them anything you don't want to, I just want you to be safe and happy. Dani…please don't be scared." Danny said earnestly.

Dani looked down.

"…I"

---

Jack and Maddie sat in the basement, neither talking. A few minutes had passed, and both had been left to private thoughts, though most likely they were still wondering whether their son was in need of physiological help or not.

All previous thoughts left their mind however, when a door slammed open, and Jazz, as she had been doing every hour or so, came down to ask the annual question: "Is Danny back yet?"

Jazz tore down the stairs and saw her parents sitting cross-legged on the floor. Before they had been standing up, pacing in their anxiousness.

"Is Danny back yet?" Jazz asked excitedly.

Both parents nodded. Jazz squealed, but Maddie sighed, stopping her.

"The second halfa hasn't come out yet." Maddie said, clearly disappointed. She decided not to mention the fact that Danny had dragged her invisibly up the stairs.

"Really? She's probably just nervous. Where are they now?" Jazz's question was left unanswered as Danny walked downstairs. Everyone's attention was not on him though, but the two slightly smaller, feminine hands that were holding onto his shirt, effectively hiding the rest of the girl's body. The tiniest bit of black hair peeked out.

Danny stood facing his parents and Jazz. There was a long moment by which everyone's breath was held. Tension grew, as did anxiousness…

"Mom, Dad, Jazz, I want to you to meet Danielle." Danny finally said. Slowly the arms unhooked from Danny's shirt and Danielle peeked out, all three parties previously mentioned taking care not to gasp, but gaping all the same.

Maddie took in the red beanie, the blue hoodie, and the red shorts. She took in the white sneakers. She exhaled softly at the blue eyes and black, messy hair that had also, equally as messily been pulled into a pony tail. This was a twelve year old girl. Younger than she had expected. It made her happy.

"Danielle was it?" Maddie asked, breaking the silence in which Dani had become increasingly nervous.

"Y-Yeah. You can call me Dani for short though, with an "I"." Dani said softly, not making eye contact.

"Dani, they're here to listen. Tell them whatever you want to." Danny encouraged, pushing her forward gently.

Maybe it was the fact they were standing in a basement filled with ghost weapons, or the fact everyone was taller than her by a good foot, or maybe just the fact that they **were **paying a great deal of attention to her, but either way, Dani felt less than comfortable at the moment.

But this was Danny's family. Family who could be her family too.

And Dani with an 'I' was no pushover! Why was she acting so shy anyway? She had a few memories of these people, so in a way she had met them before!

With that last thought, Dani regained her nerve.

"My full name is Danielle Masters. Before you ask, I am not Vlad's daughter. I was created in a lab, when Vlad was trying to make a perfect copy of Danny. Among a few others, he got me, a female clone version. However, with the help of Danny, I realized what a jerk he was and helped Danny escape. I do have ghost powers as well." At this point, Dani changed into her ghost form and then back, smiling.

"So in a way, my name should be Danielle Fenton, and I guess you could say I'm kinda Danny's daughter." Danielle thought to herself, finger touching her cheek as she cocked her head to the side cutely.

Danny didn't find it so cute, being the person in question here, and at Dani's last comment, phased halfway through the floor in shock, mouth open wide.

Dani giggled at Danny.

"Just kidding! I mean, who would want to be **your **daughter anyway? You even still live with your parents!" Jazz snickered behind her palm, while Danny glared at her, still stuck halfway through the floor. Realizing this, he blushed and pulled himself out.

"Aww so this is Danielle! So cute! I've always wanted a little sister!" Jazz said, squeezing Dani in a bear hug. Turning to Danny she gave him a cruel smirk and said,

"Hey, you did pretty good for a child, I'm surprised. And now you can stop worrying about her, day and night, always hoping for her safety like a poor abandoned father." Now Danny's eyes were turning and angry neon blue and ice started creeping up his legs, if only to try to reach up and get rid of the deep scarlet blush forming on his face.

"Can't…breathe!" Dani said, and Jazz let go of her sheepishly.

"You know, based on that earlier presentation there, I think you and I are gonna get along just fine." Jazz said, smiling pleasantly.

Dani, suddenly realizing Jazz had basically called her a little sister, and was looking forward to spending time with her, suddenly turned red in the face.

"Y-yeah well, me too. And don't call me cute." She stammered out, trying to act stubborn.

"Smooth Dani, real smooth." Danny smirked, then yelped and jumped as he got shot by a stray ectoblast. Dani smiled evilly, waving her glowing green hand at Danny, who grimaced.

After more teasing and tormenting, the children seemed to realize that one party had not said anything yet.

Maddie and Jack had been staring, eyes wide. However, Maddie had a grin creeping onto her face. As soon as Dani turned to looked at them, Maddie and Jack looked at each other, nodded briskly, and turned back to Dani.

Maddie walkd over to Dani, face hard and expressionless. Danny and Jazz exchanged a nervous glance, Dani also gulping as Maddie kneeled in front of the girl.

Maddie's face broke into a warm smile suddenly, and she hugged the little girl close, who went stiff in surprise.

"Welcome to the family Dani." Maddie said softly.

Dani's eyes went wide. She stared at Jack, who grinned and nodded, stared at Maddie who was embracing her, and was unable to see Danny and Jazz grinning behind her.

But slowly she smiled and closed her eyes, a few tears threatening to spill.

"Thanks." She spoke, breathlessly.

---

After a long moment Dani's stomach grumbled.

Danny's eyes went wide as Maddie let go of her new daughter, and quickly he hoisted her up and ran up the stairs, oblivious to Dani's surprised cries.

Both Maddie and Jack and Jazz raised an eyebrow at his antics.

When they came upstairs, they found that Danny had placed a plate in front of Dani after seating her a the table. Now opening the refrigerator, he found a sandwich Jazz had made for him for when he came back. After a quick inspection to make sure nothing ecto-ish was next to it, and nothing ecto-ish was in it, and that his mother had indeed, not made it, Danny placed the sandwich on Dani's plate.

"Eat." He commanded, pointing at the food. Danielle opened her mouth to protest but Danny beat her to it.

"You've had nothing to eat in a few days, so do as I say and **eat**." He commanded again.

Danielle hesitated, rolled her eyes, then picked up the sandwich and bit into it. A moment passed when she realized she was tasting something she liked, and then she started chewing. Fast.

Jack, Maddie, and Jazz watched wide eyed as Danny watched over Dani as she ate approvingly. Maddie found it amazing how fatherly she was acting towards Dani, as did Jack, whom couldn't help but wonder if he would have to have a 'talk'' with Danny soon about how he would have to let his kid grow up someday, and leave the nest.

Jazz just found it funny, amazing, and entertaining at the same time.

At that moment, Sam and Tucker burst into the house, dashing into the kitchen, only to find themselves face to face with Danny, Dani, and a half finished tuna sandwich.

**I don't know whether I kept it in character or not! Let me know!!! R&R!**

**Artgirl4!**


	6. Finding Danielle Part 4

**Finding Danielle Part 4**

**Just want to congratulate DPCrazy on noticing that little tidbit at the end of Finding Danielle Part 3! No one else noticed that Sam and Tucker barged in, instead of knocking and coming in?**

**Ooooh! Long chappie!!!**

A few seconds passed. Sam stared at Danny and Dani in shock, Danny and Dani stared sheepishly back. Tucker's eyes bounced back in forth between Danny, Dani, and the tuna sandwich.

"You-you got anymore of that? –OUCH!"

"Tucker!" Sam scowled, hand outstretched after smacking him on the head.

"What?! I'm hungry!!! I missed my quarterly, **and **annual feedings, not to mention **snacktime!!!!**" Tucker whined.

Dani politely made to hand Tucker the other half of her sandwich, but Danny smacked her hand back, pointing to her stomach. Dani scowled, but kept eating.

"Hi Samph, Tuphcker!" She said between bites.

"Hey Dani. Good to see you again." Sam said nicely. Truthfully, Sam hadn't known whether it would be good to see Dani again, after all, they weren't on the **best **of terms. But, the girl had a pale complexion and was obviously very hungry (since she was wolfing down the sandwich), so Sam figured for now she would be neutral.

"Hey Dani." Tucker also said cheerfully, already haven figured bygones.

"Why did you guys bust in here like a ghost was on your tail?" Jazz asked. It wasn't entirely a skeptic question, considering it could've been very well true.

"Oh right!" Sam cried, eyes widening.

"We've got a situation downtown." Tucker said.

"Situation like what?" Danny said seriously.

"Do you even have to ask?" Sam asked, rolling her eyes.

"Probably not, but it doesn't hurt." Danny said, shrugging. He winked at Sam, who crossed her arms stubbornly and looked away. A tint of red lined her cheeks however.

Dani smirked and gulped down the last bit of tuna.

"Awesome. Let's go kick some butt!" She said, knocking her fist into her hand. She jumped out of her seat, heading for the door, but didn't move an inch as she walked. Looking up, she realized Danny had his hand on her shoulder, holding her back.

"Not you Dani. Me." Danny said decisively.

"What?!" Dani cried, along with Tucker. Sam raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Not yet anyway. If you go out there, the press will be all over it by tomorrow, making up all kinds of stuff." Danny said, putting a hand to his forehead just thinking about it.

"Oh yeah. They might even say Dani is Danny's kid or something-" Danny slapped a hand over Tucker's mouth, eyes green and glaring.

"Please. We already got past that topic. Don't bring it up again." Danny pleaded. He released Tucker, whom gulped and nodded.

"But, yeah Dani, they might even say something like that, no matter how **wrong **it may seem." Danny paused and shuddered.

"So, I figured that we'll get you in school first, train for a few weeks in the basement, then the next time a ghost attacks we'll take care of it together. But the whole Disasteroid thing only just got settled. The last thing we need is more paparazzi." Danny explained. Dani pouted, but nodded grudgingly.

Dani paused a moment, stopping to consider something.

"Wait…did you say school?" Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Jazz all shared a look. Jack and Maddie looked equally confused.

"Wait, what is this about Danny?" Maddie asked.

"Well, because of the Disasteroid, school has been closed. A new semester will be starting in about a week. I figured we could also enroll Dani in the middle school by then." Danny said, shrugging.

Dani's face lit up, then fell.

"But…my existence isn't even known. How can Dani Fenton be registered into the school…if Dani Fenton isn't even registered as a person?" Dani asked. Once again, the quad shared another look.

"About that…you won't be going as Dani Fenton. I know it's risky…but you'll be going as Dani Phantom." Danny said.

"What?!" Maddie, Jack, and Dani all screamed at once.

"Guys just listen! Dani can be enrolled as Dani Phantom into the school. But only for now. I know it's risky, but I want Dani to be with kids her age. While Dani goes to school, Tucker, Mom, and Dad can work on breaking into the global records. It's going to take time, but Tucker says if you guys work on it together you can manage to hack into there and register one Dani Fenton."

"Plus, it's not like Tuck is busy being mayor anymore, so he'll have plenty of time."

"Thanks dude. I appreciate your sympathy!" Tucker said sulkily.

Danny continued.

"In the meanwhile, Dani **Fenton **will stay at our house, but unless someone sees her, we won't have to explain. If we do have to, we can say we recently adopted her form an orphanage out of town." Danny said.

"You've…put a lot of thought into this." Maddie said softly, looking at Danny strangely. He nodded firmly.

"That's my boy. I'm proud of you Danny." Jack said, clapping a large hand on his son's shoulder.

"Thanks Dad." Danny said, smiling.

Dani watched happily.

"But there's one other thing." Danny said, his face getting serious.

"What is it?" Maddie asked.

"We're gonna move out." Danny said seriously.

"WHAT?!" Maddie, Jack, Sam, Tucker, and Dani shouted, for the third time that day.

"The…the government offered me an apartment house. Here, in Amity. No one will trespass, or have the key. It's free too. There's a phone and a television. The only people who have the phone number is the government, and they will only call if there's trouble, and they need me. There's also two beds and a kitchen."

"But why do you guys have to live there?!" Maddie cried indignantly.

"We don't. I'm saying that after Dani goes to school she should go there. Same goes for me after a ghost fight. It's just a precaution. If we're in ghost form, I just want to use that place in emergencies or anything. It could be useful." Danny said.

Maddie nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess…it would be helpful. But can you guys look after yourselves properly?"

"Mom, I think Danny can handle it. So can Dani." Jazz said, winking at Danielle.

"Well…"

"Aw come on Sweet cheeks! Nobody can take care of themselves better than my son! After all, he saved the world!" Jack said proudly, as if that had anything to do with it.

"Well, alright! But, you still live **here **got it? And you still have curfew! And you still have to brush your teeth, and always bathe–"

"Mom!" Both Dani and Danny cried. Danny looked at Dani surprised, while Dani blushed, looking down at her feet.

"I, I mean-"

"No. Mom works just fine." Maddie said smiling. Dani shyly smiled back.

"Yeah! And you can call me Dad!" Jack said, grinning largely. Dani nodded.

"Well, that was a very touching moment, and I hate to break it up, but I guess I need a hammer, cuz did you forget we have some trouble downtown?!" Tucker shouted into Danny's ear.

"Ah! Okay, okay I'm going, I'm going. Geez Tuck, way to be sentimental!" Danny said.

"I'm Goin' ghost!" He shouted, changing into his ghostly form, and got ready to fly.

"Wait!" Sam cried, and Danny looked at her questioningly.

"Next time…don't forget to charge the Fenton Fones okay?" Sam said, looking away, face red. Danny's face turned red too. Dani looked between the two and smirked.

"Jeez, how much did I miss? Don't tell me you guys already confessed to each other?!"

"Dani!" Danny said angrily, face redder.

"Yeah. Apparently the whole end-of-the-world episode got their brains to function. Not to mention Mr. Clueless over here actually realized his feelings!" Tucker said not-so-discreetly to Dani, Dani nodding thoughtfully with each piece of information.

"I see…so, did I luck out in the pot?" Dani asked through her hand, still, like Tucker not-so-discreetly.

"No, that was when they got married, which you bet on being **after **graduation, and the kids, which was-"

"YOU BET ON US?!" Sam and Danny yelled, faces a color most artists would die for.

"Well of course! The betting on you was almost posted in the yearbook, but I told the guys they had to keep it more low-key, so it wasn't. Of course, the pot hasn't increased that much since the Disasteroid, but quite a few people are going to get lucked out cuz of the early confession, so when school starts-"

"Tucker. You really wish to die don't you?" Sam said, glaring daggers.

"Ummm, do I have to answer that question?"

"How did you even have time to bet on us?!" Danny asked.

"Well, I met up with Tucker on my way out of town. Had a few spare bucks that I snitched from Vlad, I just figured…"

The Red Huntress chose that moment to fly in.

"Hey Valerie!" Dani said, waving excitedly.

"Dani!" Both girls embraced, then Valerie turned and whacked Danny.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For taking so long! I'm gonna need a long break after this one! Now come on, there's a fight downtown!" Valerie grumbled, grabbing Danny by his collar and pulling him.

"Alright, alright. Dani, no going outside, remember? Talk to you later!" With that, Danny and Valerie flew out of the house.

--

Later that night, Danny paced in his bedroom, phone to ear. Dani slept peacefully in the guest room. Jazz sat on Danny's bed.

"Relax Danny, it's not like she's going to refuse the Savior-of-the-World or anything." Jazz said calmly.

"Yeah. But she can refuse a ghost." Danny said.

"You can do this, just call her up, act polite, spew out your story, and get Dani into school." Jazz said.

"Gee thanks Jazz, you make it sound so much easier." Danny said sarcastically.

"I just think you're worrying too much."

"Shhh!"

_"Hello, this is Mrs. Hekon. What can I do for you?" _

"Hello, can I speak to the principal of Casper Middle School please?"

Jazz leaned forward.

_"Just wait one moment please."_

_"…"_

_"This is Principal Cardalay. May I ask who is speaking?" _

Danny gulped.

"This-This is Danny, Danny"

Jazz slapped his back.

"This is Danny Phantom!"

_"Why, Danny Phantom?! What can I do for you?"_

"Well actually, I have to ask a favor…"

**FIN**

**Of course, the classic Use-your-hero-status-to-ask-a-favor-that-someone-really-can't-refuse! Tee-hee! R&R!**

**Artgirl4**


	7. Starting School Part 1

**Starting School Part 1: Homeroom**

"Hey! Get up Mr. Lazy!" Someone shouted, shoving Danny of his bed.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" Danny said, rubbing his head where a large bump was forming.

"For not being responsible! I caught this one trying to leave for school by herself!" Jazz said, holding a pouting Dani by the hood of her sweatshirt. Her arms were crossed and she looked away, scowling.

"What?! But I set my alarm clock and everything!" Danny said, turning to the clock on his bedside table…only to find it unplugged.

"Dani…" Danny growled, looking at his sister, who whistled innocently.

"You're just lucky I came over to check up on you guys, otherwise Dani might've been mobbed or something, and you would've been late to school!" Jazz scolded. Danny sighed and rubbed his head. The two Phantoms had moved into the apartment over the weekend, settling down before the big day when they would go to school.

Danny had laid it out for his sister. Danny would escort Dani to the principal's office and get everything set up. This would be after homeroom started in the middle school, so the kids in the hall would already be gone. After Dani was dropped off and everything was settled, Danny would leave and go to school himself.

Because Mr. Lancer was one of the people who had gone on the trip for the Disasteroid, he was one of the people who had witnessed Danny's transformation, thus learning his secret. He had also been the one to propose the contract, when it became clear that Danny's life would be in danger if he was found out.

Thus, when Danny came into school Mr. Lancer would be waiting for him, giving him a late pass. Mr. Lancer had also returned and explained the situation to Principal Ishiyama, so that they could secure a way for Danny to be excused for ghost fights, given extensions on assignments, and be able to pull his grades up.

Now, with about 20 minutes before they had to leave, they started to get ready.

"Look at you! You didn't even brush your hair properly!" Jazz fussed, brushing out Danny's locks and pulling them into a perfect ponytail. Dani continued to scowl.

"Wealy Gani, wat mahe wu thik wu cugh gaw to schraw wihouw ma?" Danny asked, brushing his teeth and looking at the mirror.

"What?" Dani asked.

Danny spat in the sink.

"I said, what made you think you could go to school without me?" Danny asked, less angry and more confused.

"I just want to make my own impression okay? I don't like having to be taken to school by my brother!" Though she said it, she couldn't hold back the hint of red that splashed on her cheeks when she said brother. She would be posing as Danny Phantom's sister after all apparently.

"It's just the rebellious phase Danny, don't take it too seriously." Jazz 'whispered' to Danny.

"I can hear everything you're saying you know!!" Dani said, scowling again. Jazz couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

"Dani, please just go with it for now. I don't want anything to happen to you." Danny said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Who said anything was going to happen to me anyway?!" Dani asked, half annoyed, half embarrassed.

"No one. But it's happened to Danny before, it could happen to you." Jazz said, taking a wet towel and rubbing Dani's face.

"Such as…?"

"Being kidnapped to Wisconsin?" Danny put out there. There was silence for a long moment, everyone feeling kinda awkward, Jazz and Danny exchanging a look.

"Let's just go!" Danny said, grabbing his backpack off his bed. It was black and blue, an ordinary backpack. Dani's was a little different.

Flashback:

_"Hey Danielle! Look what Daddy got for your very first day of school!" Jack said excitedly, running into the kitchen looking like an excited toddler. Cradled in his hands was a backpack. Maddie and Danni both looked up from the school supplies they had just brought back from the store._

_This backpack was a neon green. The zippers were white. On the very top was a stylized D like the one Danny and Dani both wore in their ghost forms. _

_"Ummm a backpack?" Dani took a guess, getting a grunt from Jack._

_"Not just any backpack, a ghost-hunter-approved backpack! I'm a ghost hunter, and I approve it! It's got an extra, secret pouch that can hold any of your ghost hunting equipment. And it still has room for all that learning stuff and your fudg-I mean lunch!" Jack said, waving the backpack over his head with a proud look._

_"Umm Jack, we already have a backpack for Dani." Maddie said gently. Jack's face fell._

_"Yeah, plus, if there's a ghost attack I'll be a little farther away from Dani's school, so I should be able to come over and handle it." Danny said, appearing by the doorway._

_"I like it!" Came Dani's cry, surprising everyone. She grabbed the backpack with an excited look on her face, floating up so that she could hug Jack._

_"Thanks Dad!" And with that, flew upstairs, Jack positively glowing, and Maddie and Danny more than a little worried._

End Flashback.

Dani grabbed her backpack as well, then both changed into their ghost forms.

"'Have fun Dani!" Jazz said, ruffling the girl's hair, who scowled, then gave a little grin.

"I will!" She said.

Both kids flew intangibly through the roof, while Jazz went for the door. She sighed once however, looking at the slightly messy room.

"Can they really handle it…?"

--

In the air Danny yelled to Dani "Catch!" Something flew over and landed in Dani's palm. It was a cell phone.

"That one's for your ghost form. In human form you'll have another!" Danny shouted over the wind.

"Really?!" Dani shouted back.

"Yep!"

"Thanks!" Dani shouted back happily. Danny grinned.

"So you know the plan right?"

"Don't worry I got it!" Dani shouted exasperatedly.

"Alright, alright."

"So, you're not going to spew out any of that "knowing right from wrong", or "don't try to change just to make friends" stuff?" Dani asked. She had been expecting this lecture for a while now.

"Nope. I figure you have to make decisions for yourself. I'm not going to get in your way." Danny said, shrugging for a moment before flying again.

"Oh." Came Dani's slightly startled reply. She hadn't been expecting that.

"There it is." Danny pointed out. The building was a bit smaller, but mostly resembled Casper High. Casper High was a little farther away, not directly across from it, but close.

Dani felt her heart start to beat wildly.

They flew through the door intangibly then landed on the tile floor. Both stayed in their ghost forms.

"Remember Dani: No one needs to know how we died. No one. If they ask, you tell them it's rude to ask, or something like that." Danny said. Dani nodded. Danny took Dani's hand and together they walked down the hall.

"You know this place really well."

"I went here before high school. I admit it's kinda cool to be back." Danny said, relishing in his memories.

"Oh yeah…" Dani replied, realizing. The halls were very quiet, kinda eerie with all the kids in the classrooms.

Soon they reached an office. Danny knocked politely and there were a few excited and rushing about sounds. Then the door slowly opened and a timid woman gestured for them to enter, closing it softly behind them.

Danny smiled his thanks and the woman smiled shyly back. Dani hid behind Danny, getting more and more nervous.

Danny walked up to another door in the office and knocked.

"Come in, come in." Came a loud voice, breaking the silence. Danny gave Dnai one last reassuring smile then opened the door.

"Ah Danny Phantom! A pleasure to finally meet you." The woman said, standing up from her chair. She was an average-sized woman, but with an air of importance. She had short black hair that curled. She wore a deep red turtleneck sweater and black pants. She also gave off a gentle feel, making both Phantoms feel more at ease.

She held out her hand.

Danny took it in his own and shaked it, smiling back.

"It's nice to meet you too Principal Cardalay." He said politely.

"Please, please, sit down!" She said, gesturing to the leather chairs that she had in the room. Dani looked to Danny, who nodded, also giving her a "relax!" look.

Both of them sat down. Dani admired the woman's desk, which held a picture of her, a young girl, and a man around her age. Probably her family, Dani inferred. The walls were decorated with numerous awards, and a graduation certificate.

Danny nudged Dani, whom almost jumped up, startled.

The Principal smiled.

"Hello. You **must **be Danielle, whom I've heard so much about. I must tell you, I was surprised when I received your brother's call-who wouldn't be?!- but I was even more surprised by his request. It's certainly a unique one! To have a ghost child enroll in my school…the sister of the hero of this world…it was surprising, that's all I can say! But we welcome you with open arms Danielle." The Principal ended with a warm smile. Dani smiled shyly back.

"Well, we can't have you being late for class now can we? Now, the teachers have all been asked to introduce this to their students so that they will be a lot calmer if they see you. However, there may be a few risks…?" She turned to Danny.

"It's alright, I already went over everything with Dani." The Principal raised an eyebrow at the nickname, but smiled.

"Well then, I'll give you your schedule, and have Mrs. Hekon- my secretary- escort you to the correct room."

"That's alright. I'm sure we'll be able to find it on our own, just to get Dani a little orientated with the building." Danny said, smiling politely once more. The Principal hesitated, then nodded, handing the piece of paper over to Danny, whom took it. He looked it over once, eyes widening, then smiled at the Principal, thanking her graciously, who waved it off as if nothing.

As they left, Dani turned to Danny whom grinned.

"You have the homeroom teacher I used to have. She's really nice." Was all he said. Then, turning from the office, walked down the hall briskly, Dani jogging to keep up.

Soon they reached another door. Dani stared. Danny patted her on the back and knocked once, twice. Someone said "come in."

"Well Dani? Dani?" Danny said. He took her by the hand, and she started to struggle.

"Ow! Hey! Quit it! Hey! Ouch!" Both struggled against each other, and one of Danny's hands reached for the doorknob, struggling to open it.

--

"Now class we have someone who will be transferring here. I want you all to treat her with the respect she deserves, but I don't want you to treat her any different that from one of you, understand?" The class looked at the teacher in confusion.

"You'll understand soon." She said, winking.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Oh, that should be them now! Come in!" She shouted through the door. There were muffled sounds, and someone grunted in surprise. Everyone jumped when the door flew open and someone landed in on his butt, skidding to the front of the classroom with a thud.

"Ouch, Dani!" The kid said, rubbing his head. He looked up and froze, eyes meeting with 19 students. It was Danny Phantom.

A moment passed, then Danny turned and glared at the door.

"Why you little-!" He shot threw the door, flying and grabbing someone. This time a girl flew in and landed on her butt, skidding in front of the class with a thud. The kids and teacher stared, ogling.

"Ouch! Haven't you ever heard of never-hitting-a-girl?" The girl said, rubbing her head. She looked up and froze as this time **her **eyes met with the shocked and gaping students.

Danny came in, rubbing his hands together and whistling, looking very satisfied with himself.

The kids looked back and forth between the two kids, who were now glaring at each other.

"Umm kids, starting today this is our new student, Danielle Phantom." Ms. Sanderson said, chuckling softly behind her palm. Both Phantom's stopped glaring daggers and Dani instead opted to ogle at the class, which in response ogled at her.

"I can't tell you how thankful I am that you are letting her come here." Danny said, going past the big-eyes Dani to shake hands with Ms. Sanderson, whom shook his hand firmly. She found to her surprise it was warm and solid, very much like a human's.

Danny grinned at her, and the girl population of the class swooned, still not believing their eyes. No one did actually.

"It's really him!" "OMG, I can't believe this is happening!" "Whose the girl?!" "Is she his kid or something?" "No way, that isn't possible!" "I can't believe he's here!!!" "Is this some kind of prank?!" "WHOA!"

Everyone was going practically crazy, but nobody jumped out of their seats.

"So, Mr. Phantom was it?" Ms. Sanderson asked. "You can call me Danny." Danny said, smiling.

"You can call me Ms. Sanderson." Ms. Sanderson replied with a smile, making Danny chuckle.

"Anyway, you have laid a few ground rules I hope…?"

"Yes, I have. Dani!" Danny shouted. Dani immediately stood erect like a military soldier, arms at her sides.

"RULE #1!" Danny shouted.

"Do not use powers inside school under any circumstances! In a ghost attack other Danny will come take care of it!" Dani shouted. Danny nodded briskly, starting to pace in front of her as she said it.

"RULE #2!"

"Do not leave school grounds! Someone will come at the end of the school day to go home with!"

"RULE #3!"

"Do not take anyone home as the Ghost Zone is true to its name, and is only a ZONE for GHOSTS!"

"RULE #4!"

"If anyone asks about Danny, do not respond by saying he's a boxer guy and then proceed to show them said boxers!" Danny stopped so suddenly he almost went through the floor, blushing a red that the surprised the class, and half-surprised, half-amused Ms. Sanderson.

"Dani…" Danny growled.

Dani grinned a moment before becoming a soldier again.

"Real Number four! If anybody asks for personal information on the Phantoms, do not tell them anything!" Dani stuck out her tongue and her brother, whom let an ectoblast slip, making her yelp.

"Oops." He said, his tone none too sorry.

Danny stopped grinning when he saw his watch.

"Oh god, I gotta go! Have fun Dani!" He took the girl and kissed her head, making Dani blush and push him away, scowling.

"Hey! Don't be all mushy, I'll see you later!" Dani said, embarrassed.

"Hehe, see you sis!" He patted Dani's head, thanked Ms. Sanderson once more, then flew through the roof, the kids giving a cheer.

Looking at the class, Dani found quite a large number of the girls now glaring at her. She supposed it was probably because Danny had kissed her head, and then, placing her palms up, shrugged, saying,

"You can have him, don't worry. I'm not about to fall in love with my brother." She made a gagging noise, and a few kids snickered. One girl smiled at Dani, and Dani smiled back.

"Well Dani, do you want to tell us anything about yourself?" Ms. Sanderson said, liking the girl already.

"Call me Danielle and I throw you into the ghost zone." Dani said, completely serious. A few kids gulped.

"Well actually, that's against the rules, so I'll just sick the box ghost on you. You'll probably die of annoyance after a good few hours." Dani said rather thoughtfully.

Ms. Sanderson, raised an eyebrow, but smiled. This quirky girl reminded her of someone…

"But that's pretty much it." Dani said, shrugging.

"Then you can go sit next to Gabriella over there." Ms. Sanderson said, pointing to the empty seat.

Dani nodded and sat down, putting her backpack next to the seat.

"Gabriella, would you mind showing Dani what to do for today?" Ms. Sanderson asked.

"It would be a pleasure Ms. Sanderson." Gabriella said, smiling a toothy smile and Ms. Sanderson, whom smiled back. Gabrielle turned to Dani and smiled the same big smile, to which Dani responded with a small smile back.

The girl smirked for a second, and Dani blinked, wondering whether she had imagined it. Then Gabriella proceeded to show Dani what to do with her stuff. A note was passed to her while she did it.

_"Meet me in the hallway at locker 143." _

The girl smiled and nodded. Dani nodded, still a little puzzled.

The rest of the class went by smoothly, except for the many times in which people just stared at Dani, just observing her. Then Ms. Sanderson would snap a ruler on their desk and tell them ogling was rude, making them red. A few people whispered and pointed, but Ms. Sanderson caught them as well. At one point she just said,

"Dani is a girl ghost. She is Danny Phantom's little sister. You learned that earlier. Now that you know that, start paying more attention to what we are learning about right **now." **A few kids stopped, but they continued to steal glances. Dani shrugged it off, mostly copying notes off of Gabriella's notebook. Because of that (and possibly to the kids' dissapointment), she never even raised her hand.

Meanwhile, Danny took his head out of the roof, figuring she would be okay. Slowly he flew away, shooting looks over his shoulder every now and then. While he truly hoped Dani would be okay, he couldn't help but wonder…would she?

**Wow long chappie. I just couldn't find a good point to separate it. This is definitely going to be one long day for Dani, that's all I can say. And REVIEW PEOPLES!!! I'm not getting too many this time around. HAS EVERYONE ABANDONED ME?! …probably. Cuz I write long author notes. And nobody likes me writing long author notes. Still, R&R!**

**Artgirl4!**


	8. Starting School Part 2

**Starting School Part 2 The Hallway and Gym**

Danny walked out of homeroom and down the hall, completely ignoring all the stares. People whispered, and a few even had the indecency to point.

However, no one dared approach. While they really wanted to, no one wanted to be the first to get on the 'Sister of the Savior's' bad list.

Dani looked at the piece of paper in her hand, then quickly found the locker she had been assigned. The girl who had smiled at her earlier was right next to her.

She had short curly black hair, which was cut in a bob. She wore faded black jeans and a violet shirt with the words "Save Yourself" in black posted across it. Her skin was lightly tanned. Her eyes were a dark stormy blue.

"Hey, I'm Lily. That was quite a show you put on back there." She smirked, opening her locker and putting her bag in. The hall suddenly became silent as everyone waited with bated breath, wondering what was going to happen to the brave Lily.

To their surprise, Dani grinned.

"Glad you liked it. I was kinda hoping for something less dramatic, but you know, 'Savior's of the World's' tend to be prima donnas." Dani rolled her eyes then giggled along with Lily.

"Actually my brother's pretty cool once you get to know him. But then again, it can be **really **hard to get to get to know him." Dani said, shrugging.

"So what's your schedule?" Lily asked. Dani handed it over.

"You have gym next. So do I! Want to go together?" Lily asked.

Dani went to accept then remembered the crumpled note in her pocket.

"Sorry…I can't. I have to go meet someone." Lily nodded.

"Gabriella right? Just a heads up, be careful. She's not the nicest of people. And by that, I mean she's the scum of the earth." Lily said with a straight face.

"I'm guessing you don't like her much."

"You guessed correctly."

"Well, I'll go and see what's up anyway. See you later!" Dani waved, gathered her stuff and left for locker 143, Lily shaking her head behind her.

Gabriella tapped her foot impatiently, then plastered on a fake smile as she saw Dani coming around the corner. Gabriella wore a flowered skirt that reached her knees with black leggings. Her shirt was baby blue. Her hair was a light brown that fell in straight waves down her back. She had startling emerald eyes.

"Dani! Over here!" She waved the girl over, who came hesitantly.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Dani asked.

"Oh I didn't want to talk silly, I wanted to invite you! Would you like to join my click?"

"Your what-now?"

Gabriella chuckled in a way that did not at all sound like a chuckle.

"My click silly! My group, you know, the A-List?"

"Oh. The A-list. Why do you want me?" Dani, suddenly feeling a few familiar-yet-not-familiar faces flash through her head. Dash and Paulina, Star and Kwan. The A-List of the high school.

"Well, you're an interesting girl Dani! You're really cool, and I bet you're really smart."

"Really?" Dani inquired. Gabriella faltered a moment, then laughed it off.

The bell rang.

"Oh, we better get to class! Give me your reply after school okay?"

"Um!" Gabriella was already gone. "Okay…"

Dani turned and spotted a kid making his way down the hall. He had a few freckles on sprinkled right next to his nose. His skin was tanned and his hair was black, cut short but messily. His eyes were brown. He wore a dark green T-shirt with a big red X-inside-a-circle on it. He wore regular blue denim jeans.

"Hey! You!" Dani called. The boy froze and turned to her, eyes wide.

"M-me?" Dani grinned. "Yes y-you."

"Do you know where the gym is?"

He nodded quickly.

"I'm going there my-myself. You-you want to come with me?" Dani smiled suddenly, making the boy jump.

"Yeah, thanks!" The boy's face went slightly red.

"My name's Dani by the way. What's yours?"

"Ke-Kevin."

"Okay Kekevin. Nice to meet you!" They shook hands, Kevin hesitating before grasping hers, eyes tightly closed, then shooting open in surprise. Her hand was warm! And solid!

Dani gestured for him to lead the way, which he did. Dani got bored. Fast.

"Let's pick up the pace." She grabbed him under his armpits as he gave a startled yelp

"Point the direction!" Shaking, he did so, and she zoomed forward, him screaming for dear life. Dani skidded to a stop near the door, and Kevin leaned against it, panting heavily.

The doors opened with a slam, Kevin falling down, and a hand reached out, grabbing the two of them "Whoa!" and pulling them in, slamming closed once more.

"Phantom! Bickner! You're late!" Barked a teacher, getting spit on both of their faces, which they both wiped off painfully slowly. Dani took the moment to take in the teacher. He was thin and lanky, but had a strong loud voice. He wore a blue and white sweatsuit, and his skin was dark, eyes black.

"Phantom, you can be excused this one time since its your first day and all, but you better shape up Bickner! This is the third time you've been late!"

"A-Actually sir, this is my first-"

"Do I LOOK LIKE I CARE?!"

"N-no sir!"

"GOOD! NOW GO CHANGE!"

"Actually he was showing me the way Sir." Dani interjected, both guys looking at her curiously.

"He probably would've been on time if not for me." Dani said.

The gym teacher grunted, then gestured with his thumb over his shoulder to the boys Locker Room, which Kevin flew to like as if a Phantom himself. With Kevin out of the way, the teacher turned to Dani.

"Whoo! I hate this job!" He said, his tone suddenly rather normal. He wiped newly-formed sweat of his brow.

"Do you know how hard it is to be rough and tough all the time? It's days like these I could use a trip to the chiropractor. Why I let my wife talk me into this, I'll never know." He said. Dani raised an eyebrow, half-shocked.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Danielle. My name is Mr. Teslaff. You will be joining the section of the girls' gym that I teach, which is currently doing gymnastics. Are you alright with that?" He asked politely. Dani nodded speechlessly, still surprised.

"Good. Now, you prefer to be called Dani right?" Another nod.

"Okay. There's one more matter I need to attend to though. The matter of the Girl's Locker Room…" He hesitated, stumbling over his words.

"Can you-I mean- can you- remove- umm, can you-"

"Take off my suit and change into the gym clothes?" Dani asked. He noddednervously, clearly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, it's not a permanent part of me, see?" She carefully pulled off her glove, and the teacher opened his mouth to give shrill/ girly scream. Opening one eye, he was surprised to see a normal pale hand, instead of possibly green goop, or simply nothing.

"Well then, the girls locker room is over there. Oh, and over there is the boys' but I'm sure you know well enough to stay out of there hmmm? (Dani blushed and nodded fervently) You might want to change a little quickly, and then you can report to this gym along with the rest of the girls.

"Okay. Thank you Mr. Teslaff, sir!" She saluted, grinning, then turned around and dashed for the locker room, leaving Mr. Teslaff with the strangest sense of déjà vu…

Dani ran into the locker rooms, everyone suddenly getting very quiet. Dani grinned at them, and the continued to stare. They stared as she changed, making her feel more than slightly uncomfortable.

"Umm guys, I am a girl you know…" They continued to stare.

"As in I have girl thoughts…" Still staring.

"I LIKE MY PRIVACY OKAY?!" Everyone jumped back, and went back to changing, slightly shaking. Lily gestured for Dani to bring her stuff to the locker next to hers, and they smirked at each other, silently exchanging grins and muffled laughter.

Dani walked outside, wearing maroon shorts and a white t-shirt with a maroon collar and sleeves. A few people gawked, after all, seeing a girl with white hair and green eyes NOT wearing a hazmat suit was not a regular occurrence. In fact, just being a GIRL was not a regular occurrence.

Scratch that, she wasn't really a regular anything.

Dani and Lily exited through the doors and onto the matted floors of the gym. Dani saw the guys enter through another door, a few whose eyes seemed to be glued on her.

Seeing Kevin, Dani waved. He shyly waved back, Dani completely oblivious to the cheers that went up by several guys who had thought she had waved at **them, **and the whispers of the guys who knew she **hadn't.**

"I wouldn't stay for the guys. Half of them are mindless flirters, a fourth of them are intelligent but still flirters, and the other fourth are socially inept." Lily said, arms crossed. She glared at the guys, making a large portion step back fearfully.

"You don't like guys much either, do you?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not against guys or anything. It just so happens that the guys of this school tend to be doofs." Lily shrugged innocently.

"Lily!" Someone called out, waving. Dani turned to see a guy with dark blue eyes, black hair with a few white streaks waving at Lily. Lily rolled her eyes, lifted her hand to chest level, and twitched at the wrist.

The guy smirked and waved harder.

Lily smirked back.

Dani was confuzzled. (A/N: WHO ELSE WANTED THAT TO BE IN THE SAME SENTENCE AS DANI?! *SQUEALS* SO CUTE!!!!)

"As stated before: All guys are doofs." Lily rolled her eyes, turned and walked away, Dani completely missing the light streak of red on her face.

Dani ran to catch up with the rest of the group, who parted for her and Lily as the boys exited the gym.

"WELCOME NEW MEAT- I MEAN STUDENTS! SINCE WE ARE OFFICIALLY STARTING A NEW TERM AFTER THE NEAR DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD, YOU WILL ALSO BE STARTING A NEW GYM TERM. I AM MR. TESLAFF, YOUR INSTRUCTOR FOR GYMNASTICS."

"WE WILL STRETCH LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER STRETCHED BEFORE. LOOKING AT ALL OF YOU, IT SEEMS THAT THIS WILL BE A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR MOST OF YOU. I WILL ALLOW YOU TO KNOW RIGHT NOW THAT I REALLY DON'T CARE."

"YOU WILL GET TO KNOW THE VARIOUS PARTS OF YOUR BODY VERY WELL IN MY UNIT. THOSE PARTS INCLUDE: YOUR SPINE, YOUR BACK, YOUR NECK, YOUR FEET, AND YOUR HOSPITAL BED-I MEAN YOUR FACE!" Mr. Teslaff cleared his throat.

"IT SEEMS THE WHOLE ASTEROID-CRASHING-INTO-THE-EARTH ACCIDENT MADE ONE OF OUR TEACHERS SNAP. UNFORTUNATELY, HE WAS IN CHARGE OF THE GYM RECORDS, AND IN HIS PANIC TO *****AHEM* EMAIL HIS MOTHER TO COME PICK HIM UP AND DO *AHEM* MOTHERLY THINGS, HE DELETED THE HEALTH FILES OF OUR STUDENTS. WE WILL BE RETESTING YOUR STRENGTH AND STABILITY AS OF NOW!"

There was a resounding groan, but Mr. Teslaff glared at them, silencing them immediately.

"Do you understand?" He asked. The girls stared.

"Hey, if I always scream I'll get a sore throat you know." He said.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

"YES!" All girls shouted back, eyes wide. He smiled successfully.

"Good. Then let's begin." Mr. Teslaff started to list off names in alphabetical order. Danny was one of the first, her last name starting with "P".

"Girls, I need you to line up with your head at the tape. Lie down flat." The gym instructor went over the directions, but the two girls on either side of Dani had trouble focusing, even though she deliberately ignored them.

"Begin!"

As Mr. Teslaff chorused "Up! Down!" again and again, the girls did push-ups.

All of the girls sitting down, not doing push-ups, watched Dani intently. Dani kept going effortlessly. However, at 25 Push-ups, Dani went on for 5 more push-ups, then went down for the last time.

Dani smiled at Lily, who grinned back.

"Danielle, are you truly…tired?" Mr. Teslaff asked gently. Danielle nodded innocently.

"Of course I am. Just because I'm a ghost or Danny Phantom's sister doesn't mean I'm any better than a normal 12-year old girl. I just get a bit more exercise is all." Dani shrugged.

"Really." Mr. Teslaff then sighed with relief and clapped a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Alright then. To tell you the truth, I was a little worried we'd be in here for a good long time waiting for you." Dani grinned and shook her head, must to the disappointment of the girls. Then she smirked.

"But, Danny **has **been fighting ghosts for a longer time than me. He's **reeeeeally **good at it. And he's **reeeeeeally **strong from it too." She stretched out her words and watched with subtle pleasure as the girls swooned from the possible mental images. She snickered behind her palm. Danny was sure gonna be in for it now!

The rest of the gym was rather uneventful. Mr. Teslaff taught a few of the basic rules for gymnastics, and Dani learned that she had a talent for it, being rather flexible (who knew being made of goop meant you could stretch so easily?).

As Dani left gym, Mr. Teslaff pulled out the results once more and observed them. His eyes strayed towards "Phantom". Staring closely, he looked and saw she had gotten exactly 30. He looked at the girls' average for push-ups at 12 Years. They had posted the average outside on the gym door, to reassure any of the weaker students, or encourage them to try harder.

"AGE 12 :"

"…"

"30."

"Well." Mr. Teslaff said, chuckling and shaking his head at the same time.

"Looks like that girl sure is going to be interesting." He smiled suddenly, finally remembering a quirky, weak student. He had always tried hard, but while many teachers said he had not fit in, Mr. Teslaff always thought he had stood out instead.

Why had he related that boy to Dani?

Mr. Teslaff shrugged and tucked his clipboard under his arm, whistling an aimless tune as he left the building. He did not think of that boy's first day, and he never thought of the words he had said, **after **managing to be late, and **after **managing to land himself in the girl's locker room, get slapped silly, get pulled out by Mr. Teslaff, and hug him in relief.

How he didn't remember, who knows.

But he did not even remember that boys' first words.

_"Thank you Mr. Teslaff, sir!" _

**I AM SO SORRY. BEFORE I GET PELTED WITH ROTTEN TOMATOES, PLEASE ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN. Not that I deserve your understanding, but its like this: I want to make the chapters stretch out. This was originally supposed to be longer, but I decided to post this because it was already kinda late. Also, I try to ensure the most humor possible, so I don't post it until its as funny as possible…this one is not one of the funnier ones. Thanks to GeekGirl2, who sent me an "You're not dead right?" Kinda of PM to get me back on track! Thank you GeekGirl! (Why do I feel like I'm being insulting….I know! I'll call you CoolGirl2 now!!!) As for everyone else, I truly sincerely apologize! I'll try to do better next time!!!!**

**Artgirl4!**


	9. Starting School Part 3

**I'm BAAAAAAACCCCCK!!!**

**Starting School Part 3: Classes and Lunch**

Dani was not glad to see that the stares had not gone down. Whispers had possibly increased, even though Dani had done next to nothing. And it was only an hour or so into the day! Dani rolled her eyes, thinking that maybe coffee wouldn't be too bad. I mean, so what if it tasted bitter and stunted her growth? Who the heck wanted to be tall?! What other reason had they invented sugar packets for?! If it could get her through school, she'd even grind her own beans if she had too!

Dani walked to her locker, when a girl near her whispered purposefully loud to her friends.

"I wonder why we never heard of her, even though Danny Phantom is her brother." The few people near her gulped, edging away. Her friends however, nodded. Dani simply reached into her locker, pulling out some notebooks.

"I mean, did anyone even know Danny Phantom **had **a sister? For all we know she could be some stray he picked up off the street!" Dani's hands started shaking. She tucked the notebooks under her arms, and hid her hands in her locker, pretending to be reaching for something else.

"It doesn't take much to look like a Phantom after all. Contacts, hair dye…a costume in girl style. A wanna-be who couldn't pay for school. An unsuspecting hero who got played as the sap..." She dragged out each words, letting them fall down on Dani.

"Little." Her fists clenched. Her friends started to back away.

"Human." Dani's eyes widened and glowed a stronger green.

"Spoiled." Her friends turned and ran. The girl's eyes widened but she still smirked.

"Brat." Dani slammed her locked closed. It echoed in the hallway as everyone turned, wide-eyed. Dani turned to the girl with surprising but deadly calmness. Her hair covered her eyes.

Imagine their surprise and fear when she smiled softly.

"You think I'm some little orphan? Some Phantom-obsessed child who got lucky?" She looked up, still smiling, and her eyes were both smiling and also sad.

"Or maybe, you think it could've been you, and you're upset it wasn't?" The girl flinched at the accusation, eyes angry. Dani was still smiling, but her shoulders shook. Her voice was controlled. Everyone else stepped back, but watched.

"Do you really think so little of me? Not even of me, but of Danny???? He's not an idiot, he wouldn't fall for something so stupid!" She spat, her eyes getting slightly more angry, shoulders shaking harder, voice rising slightly, but still smiling.

"Who are you really insulting, me?! Or Danny?!" She lunged forward, smile vanishing. grabbing the girl's hand, who shrieked. A few others screamed, expecting the girl to get her head blasted off or something else gruesome. Some covered their eyes.

Instead, Dani pulled her forward. Her hand flew against Dani's chest, Dani's hand directing hers…on her heart.

There was silence.

The girl's eyes widened with realization.

"Danny isn't an idiot. And neither am I." Dani said softly, but firmly. She let go of the girl's hand, and it hung limp against her body.

"So don't think so little of my brother." Dani said, her eyes meeting the girls'.

She smiled softly, even though her eyes were still slightly sad.

"But maybe that's asking too much from you." Dani turned and walked away, probably heading towards her next class.

There was a long silence in the halls. Everyone stared at the girl, who in turn stared at her hand, eyes wide. One of the friends returned.

"What-what did you feel?" The girl turned to her, eyes wide, and in a slightly panicked voice, whispered:

"Nothing." She whispered it again, taking the friend by the shoulders and shaking her, her voice slightly more high-pitched.

"Nothing!" She stopped shaking her friend and swallowed hard.

"There was no beat. Her heart...it wasn't beating. It wasn't…wasn't doing anything. There was nothing." Her words echoed down the halls, through mouths, through ears, and into Dani's class.

The kids were reminded of the difference.

This girl was a ghost.

She was different.

She **had** no heart.

These dark and vile thoughts filled the kids' head. If she had no heart, what else did she not have? No blood ran through her veins. No organs functioned for her body. Did she even need to breathe, or was it just a flashy show, to reassure them that she could still be one of them?

But she wasn't.

She wasn't human.

When Dani walked into class the room quieted. Lily gave her a soft smile, then looked at her with eyes wide, as if trying to get a message across. She shook her head a little, frowning softly. She mouthed the words

"Watch out."

Dani raised an eyebrow and sat down. At that moment the teacher burst through the door. She was a scrawny woman, with tiny legs and frail looking arms, but tall at the same time. Her nose was pinched and tiny on her face, and a few wrinkles lined it as well. Her hair was red with a few gray streaks. She wore a gray diamond pattern sweater, and white pants.

"Everyone in your seats! Now!" She commanded. Everyone was in their seats already, so there was a long silence.

"You! Spit out the gum!" The teacher snapped, pointing to one of them. The kid didn't have any gum. The teacher huffed and walked up to him, ruler in hand.

"You know how my teacher used to discipline children?" She asked pleasantly, cracking the ruler against her hand with a sickening snap.

"B-But I don't have any gum!" The kid said frantically.

"Open your mouth! Now!" The teacher demanded. The kid opened his mouth, but before he could close it she whammed her ruler in, using it to hold his mouth open as she bent down to look closely.

"Hmph, already swallowed it. Clever but stupid. Body won't be able to digest it." The teacher took the spit-covered ruler out of his mouth and tapped his stomach with a satisfied smirk. The boy looked at her in disbelief.

"And you! Phantom!" The ruler was suddenly pointed at…Lily.

"Me." Lily stated flatly, looking at the teacher with a raised eyebrow. Dani opened her mouth to speak but was cut off.

"Yes you! Don't think I haven't heard of your little shenanigans! All I can say is you better be careful in my class! You won't get off so easily if I catch you with your little, maaagic tricks." The teacher snapped the ruler on the desk so hard it broke in two. Lily opened her mouth, then decided to close it, simply deeming it not worth any comment.

Dani also opened her mouth, then closed it, more like a fish then anything, completely speechless. The teacher walked past her without a word, went straight to her desk, and tossed the ruler into a nearby trash can.

With her same straight-back-and-robotic walk she opened her drawer and pulled out her glasses, and a brand new ruler. Everyone's jaw dropped as she put them on and read over the attendance list. Her eyes passed over Dani, then stopped and stared at her for a long moment.

"Hooligans, just a bunch of hooligans." The teacher muttered, eyes returning to the paper. Dani's head hit the table as she gave a soft groan.

"Hey, I don't think I'd mind that much being a Phantom…does it come with the suit?" Lily asked, jabbing a thumb towards the hazmat. Dani lifted her head one moment to look at Lily, then softly banged her head against the table. Again. And Again.

"Hey, I didn't want it anyway. Geez, I don't do spandex." Lily said. The bangings got a little louder.

"Dani, I'll tell it to ya straight. Your brother's a ghost with the powers of an invicible thief and a nuclear bomb all packed into one. On top of that he's a hormonal teenager. Now what do you think is gonna happen to Poor Lily here if you have a humongous bump on your head, and your brother sees it?!" She hissed, taking Dani by the head and pulling her up.

Dani looked Lily a look with a "yeah, right" look on her face.

"My bro also is the "protector of the world peace" and the only ghost teenager who has ever managed to land himself on the cover of "Amity Tween", "Teen Power!", and "The New York Life". So excuse me if I doubt he's gonna go blow up City Hall cuz he got a pimple, let alone cuz his sister banged her head against her desk!" Dani hissed back.

"A-hem." Both girls looked up to see the teacher, arms crossed, looking down on them.

"Miss Camber, we were just talking about-"

"I don't believe I care. You were talking. I don't care who you think you are Miss Phantom, you will follow this school's rules. No special privileges, no special treatment. You asked for an education, and you **will **be receiving it, I'll make sure of it." The teacher hissed, getting to eye level with Lily.

Dani nodded behind her, gulping softly. She felt a few holes burning through her back, and amidst the stares, managed to see several glares as well, even though the kids ducked their heads as soon as they met her eyes.

Dani was met with a new concept: They thought she didn't care if she was caught.

Dani sighed, remembering how fragile it was. Danny had gone over it many times. He had told her over and over again, every move she made would be judged. If she made a mistake, it would be viewed as either purposeful in their eyes, or stupid. Even positive actions could be thought of as bad.

_"It's a lot like when I was Public Enemy Number 1." Danny said. Dani rolled her eyes, but he ignored her and continued._

_"Some people will see you in the good light, some won't. And the people who don't will see your every move in a prejudiced way, vice versa for the good people. _

_"Yeah, yeah, good times, good times, no need to relive the Glory days." Dani said, using her hand to hold up her chin in a bored manner._

_"Dani! I'm serious!"_

_"Yeah, seriously rambling! I get it already Danny, stop worrying!" Danny crossed his arms and stomped away grumbling about respect._

Now however, Dani was guessing Danny might have been onto something.

"Well then, if you do not mind **Miss Phantom**, I will now start class."

As before, Dani was so busy taking notes (from Lily), she did not participate, nor did she for the next few classes. But every time she copied the notes she immediately connected it, immediately understood it, immediately **remembered it.** It freaked her out a little.

Slowly classes past, and Dani was relieved to see lunch period. Then she was terrified.

Dani reached into her bag and pulled out a paper lunch bag. Perfectly plain, so she could throw it out. She didn't want anyone to be selling it on the internet later.

Of course there was only the problem of what **was **inside it. Besides the sandwich, and the juice…

Dani quickly dashed into the cafeteria. However, when she got there, she had no idea what to do.

The moment everyone saw her chaos broke out.

"Hey Dani, over here!"

"Phantom, sit here!"

"Danielle, it's okay right here!"

"No! Sit here!"

"We saved a seat just for you!"

Dani took a step back, overwhelmed. She saw Gabriella waving to her, gesturing to sit with her and a few other kids wearing maroon and white jackets.

Someone took her hand and tugged, making a large portion of the student body (not to mention Dani) to gasp. Dani got a hold of herself before she went intangible and instead tugged back, careful not to send the guy flying, which, while she doubted she could do, did not want to test out.

"Let go of me!"

"Relax! I have orders from Lily!" It was the kid with the dark blue eyes and black, white-streaked hair. Instead of the gym uniform, he was wearing black cargo pants (like Tucker's, except a different color), and a diagonal striped white and blue shirt.

Dani looked at him in shock, her hand going limp and allowing herself to be dragged, much to the surprise of her peers.

She found herself seated at a more reclusive table, where only Lily, the boy, and her were sitting. As soon as she sat down though, more and more kids pressed closer to the table, a few actually sitting down.

The moment one kid's butt first touched the bench, both Lily and the blue-eyed kid's head whipped toward him and their eyes narrowed dangerously. A low growl erupted from the blue-eye's throat. The kid yelped and jumped off the bench as if burned. The entire crowd took a gigantic step back.

Dani looked around and noticed more than a few glares directed at the two kids she was sitting next to. However, both children turned to their lunch as if nothing had happened and started to eat.

Dani noticed the boy eating a salad.

"Ah…an ultro-recyclo vegetarian?" The boy looked up at her, raising an eyebrow, as did Lily. Dani blushed, entertaining the on-watching students.

"Um, a friend of Danny is one…" She offered as an explanation. An awkward silence ensued, most of it created by the student body, who was currently thinking it would not be **that **bad not to eat meat.

"Well, you're partially right. I'm only a vegetarian." The boy said, shrugging.

"Haven't gone all the way yet." He said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, this guy is like a cat, he loves, loves fish. Unfortunately, he lacks all other cat characteristics, like balance for instance." Lily said, punching him in the arm. He rubbed it, managing a smile but wincing.

"…Hi, my name is Dani." The boy grinned, then jabbed a thumb at himself.

"I'm Alex. Nice to meet you." Both smiled at each other. Dani opened her lunch bag and took out her sandwich. She bit into it, chewed, swallowed, looked up, and met everyone's shocked gaze. All except Alex's that is.

"What?" Dani asked before taking another bite.

"Sorry Dani, it's just…you can eat?" Dani gulped the sandwich down rather loudly, then calmed herself.

"Um, ghosts don't necessarily **have **to eat, but we **can **if we want to, and I like to." Dani rubbed her neck like Danny, laughing nervously. She hoped the information would suffice. While it was true she didn't have to eat in ghost form, both she and Danny did not know whether her human form would faint from lack of sustenance after about 7 hours of not eating when they changed back.

Needless to say, they did not want to take any chances, nor test it out.

"Huh? Ghost?" Alex said, looking up curiously. Dani tilted her head at him, and Lily cracked up, pounding her hand against the table as she laughed.

"You are **so** gullible!" She laughed out.

"What?!" Both Dani and Alex cried out.

Lily regained her composure and stifled another laugh.

"Wow. Sorry Dani, but every now and then I tell ol' Alex here a little white line. Sadly enough, he tends to fall for it."

"Well excuse me if I trust you!" Alex said indignantly.

"What did you tell him?" Dani asked suspiciously, getting a bad feeling of apprehension.

"Uhh, I kinda told him you were… a danny phantom obsessor?" Dani's eyes flashed an angry green, making Lily flinch, but instead Dani's head hit the lunch table with a loud groan.

"Hey! Your eyes flashed!" Alex said, pointing.

"I AM NOT A FANGIRL OF MY BROTHER!" Dani suddenly shouted, head whipping up. Everyone turned to look at her strangely. She stuck her head under the table and out came a muffled scream.

"Dani, I was just messing with him." Lily said, patting her back sympathetically. Dani glared from under the table and Lily laughed nervously.

"Let me tell you a lil' story. I went on a road-trip around the world. I land in Hollywood, "Danny Phantom fangirl?!", I land in New York City "Yo! DP Girl!", I **even went to China, and I get a bunch of gibberish, and then they decide to even do a SPIRIT DANCE around me or something!"**

"Well, the suit kinda does stand out." Lily suggested meekly. Dani's head hit the table again, almost sliding through it this time. Dani remembered to control her powers just before. The student body around her soaked in the information. Why had Dani traveled everywhere?

"Wait, then wha-who are you?! LILY!!!" Alex shouted, glaring at her.

"Danielle Phantom." Lily said in a teaching-to-a-baby tone, pointing to Dani. Then she pointed to Alex.

"Bozo." She said, using the same tone and nodding as if he didn't understand. Alex pouted, crossing his arms and looking away angrily. Then he did a double-take.

"Wait! DANIELLE PHANTOM?!" Dani groaned again, head still not up from the table.

"Didn't they tell you about this in homeroom?!" She asked skeptically.

"Dude, they told us you were **special, **to be treated with **respect**, and not to be **ogled at**! You could've easily been from a mental institute based on **that **description!" Dani shrugged, admitting it was true.

"Not all fangirls are from/in insane asylums you know." She murmured.

"Yeah, but in the Danny Phantom Club, they should be, trust us." Lily said, Alex nodding. With that last word, Dani slipped out of the bench and onto the floor on her back. Nobody could say she went through the bench, because she was now clutching her stomach, laughing at the ceiling.

"They have a Danny Phantom CLUB?! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh I have to see that!!! HA!" Alex and Lily started laughing too, though if it was at Dani, or at Danny, no one could be sure. Dani got up shakily and sat down on the bench again, taking another big chunk out of her sandwich.

"Well, since your brother did save the world and all, he is pretty popular Dani."

"Yeah, people tend to admire world-saviors."

"You guys make it sound like such a big deal."

"Jealous?"

Dani scoffed.

"I've been perfectly happy traveling the world." She said, chewing on another bite.

"Why'd you come to school then?" The remaining listeners moved closer.

"Danny came and found me. I had been sick recently. I guess it showed up on his "brother radar" or something, 'cuz he went looking for me after the whole Disasteroid incident." Dani said, shrugging.

"That's disgustingly sentimental." Lily said, smiling.

"You're telling me." Dani said, rolling her eyes. The two girls giggled.

"So…you really are a Phantom?" Alex asked. Dani looked him straight in the eye and said,

"No."

"Okay…wait, hey!"

"That is fun!" Dani said, grinning.

"Isn't it?"

"How about we stop playing the Let's Tease Alex! Game!" Alex said exasperatedly.

"Okay, okay." Lily said, chuckling. Dani looked between the two of them. It eerily reminded her of something…or some people…

"Hey, why did you dye your hair?" Dani asked suddenly.

"Oh, well, I guess, you see, um…" Alex drew out, looking nervous.

"I…also…admire Danny Phantom! Yeah, that's it! His powers are pretty awesome!" Alex laughed nervously, rubbing his arm.

"Really. So that would make you…what, a fan**guy**?"

"Yep, and they're rare in existence, so take a picture now before it escapes!" Lily said, holding an imaginary camera. Both girls laughed loudly.

Alex blushed, but couldn't think of a comeback, so said nothing.

"Hey Dani!" Gabriella skipped up after tossing a salad into the trash. She completely ignored Lily, who openly glared, and Alex, who in turn ignored her.

"I want you to meet someone." She took Dani's hand (bringing forth yet another gasp from the students) and pulled her towards the A-List table, Dani yelping in surprise.

"Dani, this is Nicol"i"" Gabriella said, a boy standing up and walking over. He wore a maroon and white letterman jacket, had auburn hair, and a defiant smirk alight on his face. Dani did not like the look of things.

"Nikolai? Like N-I-K-O-L-A-I?" Dani asked, trying to make conversation.

"No, Nicol"i", as in the plural of Nicholas. Just like King Lear of Shakespeare, King's used to refer to themselves in plural, feeling that they were too powerful to be labeled as one person, and it's also Greek for Victorious people." Nicol"i" Said in a very intellectual tone of voice.

For a moment, there was silence. Gabriella stared, Dani gaped in wonder, and Nicol"i" blinked.

"I, I mean," He started, making his voice sound a tad deeper and possibly less smart,

"That's what a nerd I was beating up told me, I think. Sounded cool I guess." He shrugged nonchalantly, smirking pompously at the same time.

"So you in the group yet?" He asked. Dani shook her head slowly.

"Oh. Then I'm out. Got a paper due on Julius Caesar" He walked out the cafeteria in a cool fashion (or a maybe he was limping and his right side was heavier than his left, the authoress wasn't sure), and Gabrielle laughed.

"That's Nicol"i", always making those jokes! He loves to make fun of the geeks you see." She said, winking at Dani. Dani nodded, eyes wide and disbelieving. Then the lunch bell decided to ring.

"I…gotta go." Dani said, smiling, and stepping back slowly.

"…See ya!" She zoomed out of there in a way that made the students wonder if she had flown.

**Just got back from Vacation! Hope everyone had a great New Year's and Happy Holidays (as I am politically correct, and will not mention any religious occasions), and I am sorry for being so late on this one! Also, I had a few reviewers telling me I should've said "cliques" in the previous chapter, instead of "clicks". I apologize for that. My friends and I like to joke around and say it they are "clicks", so that was my bad. Tee-hee! Hope you liked it (and hope I kept it in character and funny!)**

**Artgirl4!**


	10. Starting School Part 4

**Woof! 16 Pages of DP Goodness. Or Badness. It's really your call.**

**Starting School Part 4: Afterschool**

Dani continued through classes, but she only had a few after lunch. After a short meeting with Lily and Alex (Lily ranting on her for leaving them with Gabriella, and Alex trying to calm her down), and more copying of notes, it was rather uneventful.

_"Well this is weird…"_ Dani looked up from her notes and realized for the first time since lunch everyone was still staring at her.

_"I __**already **__got used to this? Talk about a fast adaptation."_ Dani rolled her eyes and went back to notes.

Time passed, and then everyone was returned to homeroom for dismissal (A/N: It will help me GREATLY if the schedule actually works this way, so just pretend that's what you do in middle school, okay?)

Dani looked around at the faces. Some looked down at the eye contact, some met her gaze squarely. Dani sighed and rubbed her head as she sat down at her desk. She ached slightly, and she couldn't wait to return to her human form.

"Alright everyone, you can relax for the next few minutes until the bell rings. After school clubs will be starting up again, so all the regular ones for today will be happening. Also-"

"Whooo-oooh-oooh, ooo-oooooooh" Came a ghost-like song. It was definitely a ring-tone. Everyone turned to Dani, who laughed nervously before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a cellphone.

Everyone's eyes got wide as she looked to Ms. Sanderson for permission. She nodded kindly, and Dani smiled gratefully before flipping up the phone and holding it to her ear.

_"Hey Dani?" _Everyone gasped at Danny's voice, coming through loud and clear. Ms. Sanderson shushed them.

"Hey bro, what's up?" Dani asked.

_"Uh, we've got a hold up here at the intersection, so I might be a little late." _While everyone stored that piece of information for later, Dani sighed, then demanded in a no-nonsense voice,

"**How **much late?"

_"Hehe, about that…"_ The girls swooned. Handsome Danny was acting so nervously cute! They almost fainted from mental images of his puppy eyes. Dani rolled hers.

"Danny..." She growled. The class stared at her in shock. How disrespectful could you be. Ms. Sanderson smiled. It reminded her of how she and her brother had acted in their younger days. Hey, they still acted that way!

_"If I can reach her, I'll send the Red Huntress to pick you up, okay?"_

"Danny, you spout out one more thing and my classmates' eyes will never return to their rightful place. Ever heard of the phrase "Eyes on me"? Don't make it **that **literal. bro. Besides, I'll be fine for a while."

A few kids quickly averted their eyes. So she **had **noticed their ogling.

_"I'm guessing you got an overly warm reaction?"_

Dani rolled her eyes.

"Either too hot or too cold, who knows?" Dani shrugged into the phone.

Danny chuckled through the phone, and a few girls felt dizzy. Some responded by giggling back. Ms. Sanderson shushed them again.

_"So then, __**no **__Red Huntress?" _Dani rolled her eyes and noticed several of the boys were getting rather excited.

"Um, for Red's sake, I think I have to cancel. Just fly by when you get a chance."

_"Thanks Dani."_

"Whatever." Dani rolled her eyes again.

"Danny?" Dani's features softened.

_"Yeah?"_

"Be careful, k? I don't want to have to ask directions to the nearest hospital." She covered up her concern, but the edge was gone.

Danny's tone was gentle.

_"I'll be fine. Later Sis."_

Dani snapped the phone shut and slipped it into her pocket. Her eyes met with 90% of the class, most of who were surprised to see the nicer side of her.

Ms. Sanderson smiled softly.

"Class, there is one more thing:"

"Everyone here, and especially the Phantoms would be indebted to you if you keep it a secret that Dani is going to school here, at least for a little while, alright?" The class looked at her and started to groan and grumble, protesting.

"Let me rephrase that: **Danny Phantom **and the **Red Huntress** would very much be grateful to all of you." Ms. Sanderson's eyes flicked over all of their faces individually.

Dani's eyes widened at her teacher's method, but Ms. Sanderson winked at her. It seemed her teacher was mischievous as well.

"Well, that's all. Class dismissed." Ms. Sanderson said, waving them off. Everyone left the classroom, a few loitering around, eyes on Dani to see what she would do.

"Hey Ms. Sanderson?"

"Hmmmm?" Ms. Sanderson looked up from her desk, crossing her arms.

"What is it Dani?"

"Well, did you mention there were some clubs open today?"

"Yes, yes there are. Are you planning on looking at them while you wait for your brother?

"Pretty much." Ms. Sanderson smiled.

"I believe Kevin Lanshaw is in the Guitar Club in the band room. Why not ask him to show you around? I saw you two earlier, I'd show you around myself but-" She gestured to the pile of work on her desk.

"You think that the end of the world would leave me with **less **work to do, like a long vacation. Guess not." Dani giggled.

"But there's one more thing, be careful in the halls." She winked at the confused Danny.

"Even if you're late for gym, watch or you just might be caught." Then Ms. Sanderson turned to her work, picking up a pencil and writing in her beautiful script.

Dani turned scarlet, and flashed out of the room, taking care to open the door first and also murmur her thanks, instead of phasing through it.

Dani walked down the hall, trying to layout the school in front of her and remember where the band room was. She passed down the lockers, suddenly feeling alone. The floor seemed to stretch out longer, and without the crowds of people she instantly felt lost.

Dani walked onward, swallowing down the oncoming fear. She was in a school! The only thing she had to fear was homework, a few choice teachers, and rabid fans.

Dani scowled as her pace quickened. This wasn't working.

Dani sighed and tried to get her bearings. At that moment, she heard faint noises.

Following the trail, the faint flickers formed together, smoothing out and flowing alongside each other, connecting, becoming a gentle melody. Dani's feet led her, walking faster as she was attracted by the sweet harmony, the beautiful song that she immediately loved.

A door. Her mind registered that it was in the way. She threw it upon with a slam, shocking the occupants so that the tune, hitting a sour note abruptly stopped. Dani sighed, so morose and regretful, yearning, **needing** the song to finish. It didn't.

"D-Danielle!" Dani's eyes snapped upward, staring at the shocked eyes of Kevin. She must've been standing there, looking blank and dazed, because he looked both panicked and slightly concerned.

"Oh, uh," Dani looked and realized she had not been the only one listening. Several other people sat around Kevin, who was holding a nice, old-fashioned looking guitar, now staring at her in surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me!" Dani said, her panicked expression showing the kids enough to confirm she was telling the truth.

"Don't worry about it." An adult said, coming around. He was obviously either very brave or very stupid, for he clamped a hand on Dani's shoulder, steering her towards Kevin without a second thought.

"Looks like that playing of yours is enchanting for **all **types of people." The guy said, grinning. He was rather laid-back, wearing faded jeans and a green sweater that hung loosely around his waist. He had a few faded freckles surrounding his noise, and chocolate brown eyes. His hair was dark brown though.

Dani felt the mood lighten dramatically. She grinned too.

"Yeah, have you ever considered a path in séances?" She asked. Kevin blushed.

"Hey, you're Danielle right?" Another kid said, getting up. Slowly the other kids introduced themselves. Then the adult did.

"My name is Sam. I'm Kevin's older brother and the supervisor for the club." He said, smiling a toothy smile. Dani smiled politely back.

"So, what brings you here, besides my little bro's awesome playing?" Kevin blushed again.

"Um, I was hoping for a guide, and since I was already familiar with Kevin, and Ms. Sanderson said he was in the guitar club, I" Dani stumbled over her words. Did it make her sound like she **expected **him to help her? She didn't want to tear him away from the club.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sam's loud hoot.

"So you got to her first, eh? How come you never tell me things anymore?" Sam ruffled Kevin's hair playfully, whom Dani was starting to think would have a permanent flushed color on his face.

"W-We just met in the hall, that's all!" Kevin squeaked, waving his hands as if to banish the thought. Dani gave them a puzzled look, not entirely sure what was going on.

"Well, go show her around, don't let us hold you down!" Kevin was pushed by his big hand toward Dani, stumbling before coming up right next to her. Dani then opened the door, gesturing for Kevin to go through and flashing Sam a grateful glance.

Kevin blushed harder, but walked into the hall, Dani faithfully following.

"Um, so there's the Science Club, the Magic Club, the Girl Scouts-"

"Anything where I won't be dissected, be too good at, or die (**again**) from cheesiness?"

"Well…"

"What is it?" Dani asked eagerly. Kevin bit his lip.

"Your brother does have a fan club-Whoa!"

"Where?!" Dani asked, having grabbed Kevin by the collar of his shirt. He held up a shaking hand, pointing and squeaking out,

"The next room down on the left!" Dani took his hand, ignored his blush, and they sped down, where she flung the door open, and gasped in surprise.

There were about 14 girls in the room. The room had every poster that had Danny Phantom on it strewn across the walls, held up by tape. Black, green and White ribbons were thrown across the floor, and in many cases, in their hair as well. One girl, with dark chocolate skin and beautiful black hair was on a pedestal, wearing a DP shirt, similar to everyone else's except this one was highlighted with neon green.

"Order! Order! Now, at exactly 20.3 Minutes past 8:00 target entered the building, followed by younger sibling. At 24.6 Minutes past, target knocked on door of Room 416! Yes #748?" The girl said, pointing to someone with their hand raised.

"Is it possible to get any strands of DNA left from contact with doorknob?"

The girl shook her head.

"Negative. By now it's been used by all of the occupants several times, overlapping His wonderful touch." The girls swooned.

"How did you get that information?" Dani asked, Kevin cowering behind her. The girl looked at her, clearly startled, then her eyes narrowed, becoming cool and collected.

"We have our sources. Now, are you the sister of the Beloved One?" The girl asked, walking up to Dani and silencing all the other girls with a raised hand.

Dani scrutinized her carefully.

"It depends. Who wants to know?" She asked softly.

"We are the Phantom Pherocity Phan Club. My name is Sarah, #317 of Global Phantom. We welcome you, Sister of the Savior." Sarah, bowed her head, sweeping her arm forward. The others bowed their head too.

"Oooookkkkaaay. I'm officially nauseous." Dani said to Kevin, looking pretty freaked out.

"Uh, can we get out of here now?"

"Girls!" Sarah snapped her fingers and two of the girls were by a startled Kevin's side.

"Show the non-believer out." She said, glaring at him. Dani watched wide eyed as Kevin was…**escorted **out of the room.

"So, we only ask of you one thing, Danielle Phantom."

"The name's Dani first of all."

"We only ask of you one thing, Dani Phantom then."

"What is it?" Dani said, feeling apprehensive. Sarah got close, whispering in Dani's ear softly.

"Do you really have his boxers?" Dani felt herself blushing on Danny's behalf, and lost her visibility for a moment, the girls oohing and aahing.

"Th-That was a joke!" Dani spluttered, covering her mouth as if she might get contaminated, she pressed against the wall across from Sarah, shocked senseless.

"You expect me to give you his underpants? And how did you find that out anyway?!"

"We have our sources." She said again. Dani shivered violently. This club was giving her the heebie-jeebies.

"But we need an item of clothing if we are to purify ourselves!" Sarah said desperately.

"He is our savior, is he not?" Dani raised an eyebrow, mouth open. She couldn't form any words.

"Not to mention he's **hot!** That guy just **works **in hazmat, that's all I'm saying!" Another girl said. This one had auburn hair, and dark green eyes, not to mention a truck full of attitude.

"Who?" Dani stuttered.

"Micky, Vice President of Phantom Pherocity Phan Club and #437 of Global Phantom. Nice to meet you." She grinned. Dani weakly smiled.

"I'm sorry to have scared you. They are just a little enthusiastic is all. We haven't gotten an info source this good in a very long time." This girl tall and lean. She had black hair pulled into a tight pony tail, and pale white skin. Her eyes were dark blue she wore no-border glasses.

"My name is Julie, and I'm the Treasurer of this club, along with #156 in Global Phantom. You must be rather disoriented and surprised. Why don't you sit down?" Dani sat down after a moment, blinking dazedly at the chair offered to her.

After a moment, Dani realized they weren't saying anything. She looked up and the girls blinked, staring.

"You look so much like him." Micky said, taking a pinch of Dani's hair and rubbing it between her fingers.

"Hey, stop that!"

"Kinda sound like him too." Sarah noted, taking her hand, and looking at the pale skin. Dani blanched, and snatched her hand and hair back.

"Would you guys stop! I'm my own person! Stop affiliating me with my brother!"

"Dani, Dani." Julie said in a calming tone. Dani turned to her.

"We don't mean to insult you. In fact, we're jealous of you. Many of us would kill to be Danny Phantom's sister. Not to mention all the…**nice things** that come along with it." Dani raised an eyebrow as Julie's eyes got a faraway look in them, her tongue licking her lips satisfactorily.

"The popularity…the funds." She shook her head as if to ward the thoughts.

"But we all understand you have your own position. Besides, I want a sister-in-law!"

"What?" Dani asked alarmed.

"Nothing!" Julie quickly amended. Dani looked at her suspiciously and she just smiled.

"But we would all be so grateful if you could give us something, anything to remind us of Danny." The girls all batted their eyelids and puppy pouted.

"Hey, we Phantoms invented that move, no stealing!" Dani said, wagging her finger. She thought to herself, then sighed, digging into her pocket. There she pulled out a small sized pocketbook.

The girls watched in eager silent anticipation as she carefully pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

"I knew this would come in handy at some point. Good thing I made copies." Dani muttered softly.

"Here!" She tossed it to Julie.

The girls crowded around her, eyes wide. The small wallet sized picture showed Danny. This one, unlike the other heroic ones, was undeniably cute.

His eyes closed, he was clearly lying on a pillow or something. Just his face, his hair sprawled beneath his head, mouth opened ever so softly, eyes closed. He looked like an angel. At least he did to the girls. Toss it into the ghost zone and it'd last about two seconds.

What erupted then was a fight for the photo. Dani snuck out quietly, sighing in relief at the empty hallway.

Hey Dani!" Dani jumped, yelling and the girl shrieked shrilly. As Dani regained breath, she saw it was Gabriella.

"Oh, sorry! I've…had a rough day." Dani said. Gabriella held a hand to her heart, but smiled uncertainly.

"It's fine, I shouldn't have startled you." Dani grinned.

"Lucky I didn't ectoblast you into next week." There was stunned silence. Dani laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck.

"That was a joke." Gabriella laughed hollowly.

"Um, so…what was it exactly, I mean-" Dani stumbled for what seemed the millionth time that day.

"Oh! Your response, you know, to my invitation?" Gabriella prodded, smiling hopefully.

"Oh…about that." Dani smiled weakly.

"You guys seem really nice and all, but I think I'm gonna stick with Lily and Alex. Just my type of people I guess." She shrugged. For a moment Gabriella's smile vanished, then reappeared.

"Well, I'm not going to force you or anything. I'd…just be careful around Lily. She can be very…volatile at times." Dani nodded, trying to remember what exactly volatile meant.

"Well, my offer will always stand Dani. If you need me, I'll be there." Gabriella smiled sweetly and she smiled hesitantly back.

Gabriella turned around, but stopped, frozen.

"Gabriella?"

No response.

"Yoo-hoo?"

Nothing.

"Dani! Little help here!" Someone yelled from down the hall. Dani looked around the stunned Gabriella, eyes going wide and jaw going slack.

There, running from a huge crowd of little mini middle-schoolers, was Danny Phantom.

"Hey! A little help would be very much appreciated!" Danny said, passing the Dazed Dani and skidding around the corner, the kids following.

Dani snapped back to reality and rolled her eyes.

"Why not just use your powers?" Dani yelled back. Danny came around the same bend again, hand outstretched as he skidded across the floor to stop himself. He slid across however, shoulder smacking into the door.

He rested for a moment, wincing in pain before yelping as the door opened, landing with his cheek pressed against the floor, and his hair flopping down in front of his eyes, on the floor and his legs up on the door for support, basically upside down.

Dani strolled to Danny, a smirk present on her face.

"Danny, meet your Phan Club." Dani pointed to Dani, who looked at her upside-down, and then pointed to the girls who were staring in shock (happy shock, not indignant shock) at Danny, whose eyes then followed and got wider.

"Of all the places to land." He muttered.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The girls screamed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Danny screamed back, righting himself and tearing through the halls. Unfortunately, the other group that had been chasing him came around at that same moment, meeting with Danny, who turned tail the other way.

Even more unfortunately (in Danny's case of course) the Phan girls had blocked the other way. Danny pressed up against the lockers as both parties closed in…

"For crying out loud!" Everyone gasped, eyes coming from above the panicked Danny's head. There Dani floated, the first public display of her powers anyone had really seen her use. It was the only proof all day that she was an actual ghost.

"Stop acting like their prey and come on already!" Dani tugged on his sleeve, clearly annoyed.

"I just thought I shouldn't use my powers in this school, if you aren't allowed and everything." Danny said, but he too floated, the crowd aahing in amazement. Dani rolled her eyes.

"Let's just go." So they did, much to the dissapointment of the crowd. Gabriella merely smirked after them.

"So, how was your first day?" Danny asked. Dani shrugged.

"You know, the usual mobs, stares, not to mention the gossiping!" Dani grinned. Danny smiled weakly back.

"Something wrong?"

"No, just…been a pretty rough day too."

"How?" Dani asked suspiciously.

Danny sighed and rubbed the back of his neck tiredly.

"Well, when we came out publicly with the plan for the Disasteroid, I was in ghost form…"

"Uh-huh…" Dani prodded.

"And Tucker, Sam, and Jazz were all there too…"

"Uh-huh…"

"It implied we knew each other, or at least had contact…"

"Where are you going with this?"

"So it was like telling the whole world we're friends!" Danny burst out finally.

Dani stared at him, raising an eyebrow. Danny sighed, palm hitting forehead.

"Well that and the whole "Two Lovebirds finally going out" thing.

"Ah-hah." Dani said, smirking and nodding in understanding. Danny glared, blushing embarrassedly.

"Am I really like that?" He asked, wincing. Dani glared back. They flew on for a little while.

"Make any friends?" Danny asked suddenly. Dani smiled slightly.

"A few. Freaked out a lot, but made a few." Danny looked at her suspiciously.

"How exactly did you freak them out?"

Dani grinned evilly.

"That girl will be having nightmares for a few nights."

"Dani!"

"What?! I didn't harm her! Maybe strained her sanity a little, but didn't **harm **her!" Dani said, outraged. Danny sighed.

"What am I going to do with you?"

Dani grinned.

"Hopefully you won't disown me **Daddy**." They glared at each other for a very long time, then just started laughing. Maybe it was the stress, but they kept laughing, clutching their stomachs, a few loose tears trailing down their faces and landing on the gravel (and some unfortunate heads) way below.

"So…wanna go drown our self-anxiety at the nasty burger?" Dani offered, jabbing her thumb.

"I'm paying?"

"Who's the one getting the allowance?"

"Right." They both smiled at each other and flew towards the restaurant.

None of them noticed the mechanical structure poised on the roof, whose mouth and eyes whirred to life with green energy. Somehow the metal lips smoothly slid into place, creating a blissfully happy expression, yet with an undertone of cruelty.

"You thought things would be finished with the meteor whelp, didn't you?" He pressed a button on his wrist, and within moments a small portal to the ghost zone opened in front of him. He put his leg through.

"Well you were wrong. **Both of you were."**

He stepped through with the undeniably cliché words, but ones that fit the situation perfectly.

"You were dead wrong."

The portal snapped close, but no one was around to witness it. Skulker had returned to the ghost zone after retrieving the information he seeked. Now he would simply spread it around…and let the rest unfold on its own.

Two clueless Phantoms munched on their 'To go' Burgers.

**Wow. This is LATE. But, last week was my birthday (Thanks to GeekGirl, for noticing and sending a Happy Birthday message!), and this week I've been puking from the stomach flu. Before I receive your pity, first rant at me at how late this chapter is so I don't feel like an illness-prone idiot. Ever heard the phrase "Idiots don't catch colds"? I don't think it's working in my case. Never had great luck.**

**Also, if anyone thinks I'm making Dani into a Mary Sue (which I completely and utterly hope against) don't just tell me I am! Tell me how to FIX it, cuz I am totally clueless here!!!**

**Anyway, I wanted to state (and get it over with here and now) that I may make fun of fangirls, and fanguys, and so on and so forth, but I DO NOT mean any of it. DO NOT. So I hope none of you take it offensively and then pelt my house with DP Plushies. Cuz, it would hurt the plushies! Tee-hee! Also, in the previous chapter Nicol"i" ranted about some greek mumbo-jumbo and Shakespeare stuff. I only have a faint grasp on that, so if I'm wrong about it, I apologize. **

**Yay! Painkillers! Good night everybody!**


	11. Dani's Debut Part 1

**Dani's Debut Part 1**

It had been about a month since Dani has started going to school, and somehow they had managed to keep it under wraps.

…

Meaning Danny had signed every scrap of paper, arm, hand, and the occasional cheek and forehead thrust at him.

Over and over again.

It was an exhausting month.

It became almost routinely, but everyone always loved the anticipation in the air when the Phantoms would walk in, mostly because they had taken a new way of doing it.

Human style.

--Flashback--

_"Well class, the Phantoms should be arriving in 3, 2, 1…" Ms. Sanderson waited. Surely enough, someone knocked on the door. _

_Everyone's faced became highly disappointed when two kids walked through the door, one female and one male. _

_The guy had a baseball cap on, and sunglasses. He wore a long sleeved slim-fit black t-shirt with the words "I can handle this. Can you?" Posted on it in red writing, and surprising white jeans. _

_The girl had a dark navy blue top on with the words "I'm with the ego-maniac" printed in black, same white jeans, and the same black sunglasses and cap. Ms. Sanderson was confused for a moment._

_"Umm, may I ask who you are?" The guy's mouth twisted, and the girl grinned, slugging him in the arm._

_"You owe me five bucks." She said to the boy in a familiar voice. He scowled at her and they pulled off the caps and glasses. The class gasped, suddenly feeling very stupid._

_The Phantoms didn't actually blame them though. They knew the reason the class hadn't recognized them was for the same reason they didn't recognize their regular human forms._

_Their brain didn't make the connection, because picturing the Phantoms in regular clothes was next to impossible for them._

_"Do you like it?" Dani said, twirling. Ms. Sanderson laughed and nodded. She raised an eyebrow at Danny's apparel and he smiled sheepishly (do I even have to mention the girls reaction?)_

_"Hazmat only lasts so long." He said jokingly. They laughed._

_"May I ask where you got the clothes?" Ms. Sanderson said. The class subconsciously leaned forward in their desks._

_"Actually a friend of ours made them. She's into designing."_

_Actually, Sam had only revealed her artistic talent a little earlier, having already made several outfits for them ahead of time. Dani had taken an immediate liking to it. Danny had been wondering where this had suddenly come from._

_"You know when I made that stylized D for you? I had a little extra cloth. I just experimented, made a few different designs. Turned out to be kinda fun." Sam shrugged. _

_"It wasn't hard to get the material needed. Plus, I figured Dani would want some school clothes. This can be especially for the Phantom's wardrobe only." Sam smiled and Danny blushed and nodded._

_"I love it." He said, pecking her on the cheek and quickly trying on the shirt on, Sam politely averting her eyes and blush as Dani gagged._

_The class groaned simultaneously, and Danny looked at them curiously while Dani rolled her eyes. She mouthed "clueless" to Ms. Sanderson, who giggled behind her palm. _

_"Did any body see you wearing those clothes?" A girl asked, kinda liking the idea of being the only one to see this Danny in casual. Danny nodded._

_"I don't think anyone took pictures in the streets so-"_

_"You were in the streets?" Someone asked, surprised. The class shared their sentiments._

_"Well yeah, how else would we get here?" Dani asked. Both cocked their heads, not aware that they were doing it, let alone that they were __**both **__doing it. _

_"…" The class paused for a moment. Even Ms. Sanderson sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose._

_"I never thought a day would come where someone would ask me that question, and I'd actually answer with a 'Didn't you fly?'" Dani grinned and shook her head._

_"We took it for a test run first. It was fun." She giggled and Danny grimaced._

_"I didn't particularly enjoy it." He said in response to the unasked question._

_"A few girls just strutted over and wrote their numbers on his arm." Dani stage-whispered, taking Danny's arm and rolling up his sleeve, showing the smudged marker for emphasis. Danny blushed scarlet, and rolled his sleeve back down hastily "Dani!" _

_"Well it's true!" She shrugged. _

_The girls seethed with jealously._

_Danny laughed nervously, still red. Actually, many girls found him cuter from the new found shyness they saw. Who knew the heroic cool idol could also be so…adorable???_

-- End of Flashback--

Today the Phantoms walked in wearing some new stuff from Sam. Today Danny's t-shirt said "If I could live life always smiling…" on the back it read

"I'd rather keep a straight face." Danny had declared this one was his favorite, but Dani could never be sure since he always said that to Sam every day. Then she would tell him to stick a sock in it and go take Dani to school.

Dani's shirt read "Don't you wish you were me?" Across the front. Danny had actually hugged Sam, telling her this one was perfect. Sam had blinked, then smirked and told her that had been her aim.

Danny patted her head in the usual routine, still managing to convey brotherly love, and also sent a grateful glance (another part of the routine) at Ms. Sanderson, who smiled exasperatedly. For some reason that boy never got old.

Then he saluted at the class (a joke that had been picked up sometime after Dani's soldier imitation), which saluted back at him (girls giggling, boys with lopsided grins), and he flew through the ceiling.

Dani took her seat, and Ms. Sanderson started class.

What had surprised the class and teachers as Dani had progressed was the fact that she was very intelligent and familiar with all the school subjects. As Dani had gotten out of copying old notes and old material, she was able to figure out answers to questions and equations very quickly.

Tucker had theorized that with her cloning came Danny's education. Even if Danny was next to failing in high school, he still had already been taught the things in middle school, and any high school could ace it.

However, Dani still had to study to keep up. Just depending on Danny's memories didn't always work, so in reality while everything she learned seemed familiar, it was still old in her mind, and she had to **re**learn it. Or something to that effect.

From there Danny and Dani had stared at Tucker and Sam had put it into English.

"You remember a lot from Danny's memories, but you still need to work and study to do well in school."

"Ooooh" Both Phantoms had replied. Sam rolled her eyes, stifling a laugh. Tucker's theory did extend though, to that when Dani reached Danny's age when she had been created, the memory flow would stop, and she'd only have her brain to back her up through high school.

Sam had actually taken a liking to Dani, as had Jazz. Both girls liked having an extra girl in the group, and it made it seem a little more stronger than the boys side at times.

Not to mention knowing all of Danny's likes and dislikes could work to Sam's advantage.

Another thing that had been going on after school was the Training Sessions.

Maddie had taken one look at the basement and declared it was not fit for the "Phantoms Headquarters". Instead, she had started renovating, and within a week, she had made the basement triple the size, decked out with the latest equipment.

Here came the part where all three Fentons, Sam and Tucker stared. Maddie had simply smiled, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"You didn't actually think we didn't live financially secure lives did you?" Both Fenton children hushed up, and Dani looked at them curiously.

After both Phantoms reported to the apartment (usually one took longer than the other, so they would raid the fridge and enjoy a non-ectosized snack in the meantime), they went straight to the basement.

Tucker would usually be there. His parents had found out at the Disasteroid incident, and they had supported Danny whole-heartedly. Mrs. Foley had also offered to be Danny's personal doctor, since she was one and could easily help them if they ever had a…bigger problem. While Maddie had paled at the thought, Mrs. Foley had pointed out was possible.

Of course, neither mother liked the idea of it.

They had hastily gotten off the subject.

Since the basement had been redone, any guest who walked in would see the regular stuff, the portal and shelves filled with jar samples that had been there before.

Now, by way of either phasing or a secret code, the Phantoms and Fentons (and various others) could gain access to another secret attachment. There, Maddie had set up training equipment and simulations for the trainee-ghost hunters.

There was also a huge screen, and several computers. It was here that Tucker and Danny's parents worked diligently. It seemed to get to the Global Records, there was a long and winding passcode.

When asked why, Tucker had shrugged.

"I'm guessing they thought no one would ever be so determined or with so much free time as to give it a whack. But, I say, give or take a year, probably less, we can get it cracked." He grinned. Danny and Tucker had "man-hugged" and the rest is history.

Sam and Jazz were also there most of the time. While Jazz was busy with college applications and studying for her last year in high school, she still managed to be there, mostly for training. She and Maddie worked together when Maddie wasn't at the computer on strength and endurance, along with a little martial arts.

Sam would join in for the martial arts, but she also used the ghost simulations to train herself. She also helped Dani and Danny.

For the past month, both Phantoms had gone through intensive training. Danny had been teaching Dani several strategies and fighting techniques (if any such existed), and teaching her about the many ghosts he had fought after her existence. It proved to be a long list.

"The most important thing that you have to master right now is to duplicate." Danny said, making two of himself.

"Why? So I can watch two different channels at once on television?" Dani asked, thoroughly bored.

"No!" Danny scowled.

"When Danielle Fenton becomes a official part of this family, you need to be able to be Dani Phantom and Dani Fenton, and in some cases, at the same time too." Dani rolled her eyes, but squeezed them shut and concentrated.

Neither Phantom noticed the two best friends sliding up to each other.

"I say two weeks."

"One."

"Guys, this is my little sister, not my little brother. We don't bet on Dani." Jazz scolded. Both stared at her. She looked both ways and then stooped to their level.

"5 Days tops. Like I said, this is my little sister we're talking about, not my brother." She made to walk away, then hesitated and whispered again,

"And that was an estimation, not a bet. I'm also estimating 20 Bucks on it." Sam smirked and she grinned back, then went back to her mom.

"Jazz says 20, I say 45." Tucker said, crossing his arms.

"45 on what?" Danny asked, walking over as he left Dani, still scrunching her eyes and concentrating.

"Uh, on how many Nasty Burger,-uh-Sam could scarf down!" Sam hit her forehead and sighed.

"Sam's a vegetarian Tuck."

"I-uh-know that! I meant 45-uh-veggie burgers! Yeah." Danny raised an eyebrow, then looked at Sam, who shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" She drawled out.

"Hey Danny!" A voice interrupted. They turned and saw the girl munching on a peanut butter sandwich.

"I think I'll give it a go later, 'kay? I've got homework to do."

"Wait, but Dani!" Too late. The girl went through the ceiling and into her room. Danny sighed, and Sam patted him on the back mock-sympathetically.

"It's always the rebellious phase that gets ya, eh Danny?" She said, smirking. He glared at her.

"Will you people just LET IT GO?!" He yelled as Sam and Tucker collapsed on the floor laughing.

Dani's room was somewhat similar to Danny's. She was also interested in space, but instead of posters, she had models hanging from every available space. Her bed had a sky comforter and was littered with magazines and some books. Not being able to take anything out from the library, she had gotten Jazz to do it, by floating next to her invisibly.

…It's a story for another day.

Now Dani sat at her desk, working out some math for school the next day.

"Hey Dani, you really need to learn how to replicate, the sooner the better." Dani sighed as Danny flew through the wall, lugging Jack behind him, who shuddered.

"Besides the creepy-crawlies going through my stomach, man that's cool!" Jack said.

Dani rolled her eyes and turned to her homework again.

"Jeez, it's not like I'm going to need it by tomorrow!"

"But you might! You never know!" Danny said, elbowing his Dad to help him out here. Jack coughed, saying,

"Uh Yeah! What he said!"

"But I most likely won't." Dani said, her back to them.

"But you might!" Danny responded, scowling. Jack stood there confused.

"No, I won't."

"Yes you will."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Danny!" She shouted indignantly, turning to him angrily.

"Dani!" He shouted back.

"Jack!" Maddie yelled from downstairs.

"Maddie!" Jack yelled joyously, and sped downstairs, two Phantoms staring at the empty space for a moment. They both sighed simultaneously.

"Look, I'm merely concerned for your safety Dani. This whole plan we have going…it could really easily fall apart, that's all." Danny said, taking a seat on Dani's bed.

Dani sighed again, sat down, and then punched Danny in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For being sappy! I understand Danny, and I'll work I promise, but school comes first. I'll try again tomorrow, okay?" Danny moped, rubbing his arm, but muttered a small,

"Fine." He sank through the wall, still looking down.

"Oh way to be dramatic!" Dani yelled after him.

--

Dani barely paid attention throughout class. Her mind, unusual as it was, was thinking about something other than class, and instead focusing on a growing concern.

Ghosts.

There had been a few minor attacks, mostly formed by the Box Ghost, Klemper, and various other low-rate ones. Nothing big.

Exactly what worried them. Danny hadn't even seen Skulker, who usually came at least twice a month.

Danny Phantom hadn't been needed, but that just made Danny train harder. Like he was afraid of something.

And that worried Dani even more.

Ms. Sanderson raised an eyebrow at the young girl's behavior, but decided against mentioning it. She wasn't being favorable, more like her student was focusing hard on something, just not on class. She could see small worry lines on Ms. Phantom's forehead, and for a moment the teacher felt anxiety.

At gym Lily raised her hand over Dani's eyes multiple times to get her to pay attention. At one point they had been doing running, and Dani had lapped the students once before she zapped to attention and slowed down. The girls paid very close attention to her afterwards.

"What is with you? You're acting like Alex on one of his 'I miss my bed' days." Lily asked, pinching Dani for the third time that day.

"S-sorry. Ever had a premonition before?" Dani asked, shivering.

"Premonition? Like bad stuff is about to happen? Not really, but it's possible with you being a ghost and all your mojo or whatever is up." Lily said, poking her. Dani scowled.

The topic of Dani being a ghost was never untouched with Lily and Alex around. They honestly didn't check to see if Dani was okay with it or not (which she was), because they just didn't care.

The trio had grown close.

Dani's teeth started chattering and she got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. It crawled up her throat and entered her mouth. Lily asked her if she was okay, seeing her disgusted expression.

The cold air wriggling in her mouth, Dani opened it and gagged out a fogged breath.

"Weird. What was that?" Lily asked as the fog disappeared.

"I don't know. I've seen my brother's ice powers, but this was definitely smaller…and less condensed." Dani said, waiting to see if anything more happened. Nothing did and she let out a breath of relief.

"Ever seen your brother do it?"

"I think…a few times, but that was when the Box Gho-"

"WHIIIIIP!" Something zoomed past Dani and crashed into the floor. Lily backed up, eyes wide.

Some girls squealed, many screamed, and Mr. Teslaff (after admitting a girly shriek himself), tried to calm them down, keeping them away.

Dani was the only one who didn't move.

Danny wrestled with a purple robed man, with a green spiked crown that managed to stay on his head despite their fumbling.

Danny seemed to be holding something in the palm of his hand, a gold chain that the man was trying to reach. However, Danny held it back, while still managing to land a few well-aimed punches on the guy.

Danny looked up momentarily from the pummeling and noticed his sister standing not more than two feet away.

"Dani?!" He looked around himself, then flew back as Aragon landed a kick that sent him solidly into a wall.

"Oh crud."

"'Oh Crud' as you so thoughtfully put it boy, is right" Said the man, standing up and brushing dust of his robe.

Dani looked at him a second, trying to match his figure to the pictures she'd seen (memorized more like) in Danny's ghost files.

"Aragon." She whispered when it clicked. Danny looked at her with warning eyes as Aragon advanced, and Dani knew why. The gold chain was clenched tightly in his fist.

"Now, give me back my-" Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and Danny sighed, facepalming. The clustered group of kids and teached looked curiously.

"Excuse me" A young girl piped up, tapping him again.

"What is it?!" Aragon snapped, then turned around. His eyes widened as the girl eyed her fist like he was unimportant.

"Yeah, I've reserved Mister Phantom over there for special butt-kick courtesy of me for the next month. Can you come back, say, never?" Only then did Dani grin at him as she swung, punch making solid contact with his princely face.

One male Phantom, class, and teacher all winced simultaneously.

"And he's down for the count!" Dani said, smirking. She flew over to her brother (eliciting another gasp of course) and helped him up as he rubbed his head.

"Thanks…I think." Danny said, groaning.

"Yes you mean to thank me, and no prob. That's what all the training's for after all." Dani said.

Danny floated over to Aragon, where a bruise was starting to form on his face.

"Would you look at that! Matches his robes perfectly!" Dani declared. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Don't get a big head just because you sucker-punched him."

"How was that a sucker-punch?! He saw me, he could've ducked!"

"He was in shock. A delayed reaction, you could've waited for him to get his bearings."

"What, and miss my chance to knock him out?!"

"Exactly why that's called a sucker-punch!"

"He's not going to be the only sucker punched if you don't-"

"Uh, excuse me?"

"WHAT?!" Both Phantoms roared at Mr. Teslaff, whom promptly fainted dead away. Danny sighed and face-palmed.

"Look at what you did now."

"I did?! How is this my fault?!"

"You screamed!"

"So did you!"

"Uh, guys?" Lily prodded.

"Well you were louder!"

"Guuuuu-uuuuuys." She tried again, stretching the word out.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"**GUUUUUUUUYS….." **Lily prodded a little louder, trying to get their attention urgently.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY?!" Lily screamed, taking both of their heads by the hair and shaking them together. Many girls screamed, a few whistled, and others just gaped.

"Ouch! Let go!" Both Phantoms said in unison.

"Not until you stop ruining the 'perfect family' image you've had going here and actually **listen to me!!!"** Both Phantoms stared at her.

"…"

"…What?!" Lily snapped.

"I'm guessing you're Lily." Danny said, eyebrow up.

"Told you she was like Sam." Dani whispered, Danny nodding speculatively.

"Would you stop jabbering on about something I could care less about and pay attention to that stupid blue ghost guy who is easily escaping at the moment?!"

"Huh?" Both Phantoms heads whipped to the spot Aragon had been, making Lily yelp and release their heads.

"Ah!" Both heads whipped again to the empty spot in Danny's hands where the amulet had been hanging.

"AHHH!" Both Phantoms screamed once more when they realized what exactly that meant. They looked at each other for one moment with pale faces before flying through the gym ceiling.

Lily stared indignantly at the ceiling while everyone else stared as well.

"Darn twins." She grumbled.

"You're WELCOME BY THE WAY!" She yelled to the ceiling.

**Wow. That was pathetic. I need to have a taser strapped to my chair. Then if I don't post a chapter in two weeks, zappedy-zap goes Artgirl! **

**On a lighter note: Hey guys, I've set up a Deviantart account! So far I am currently pondering over how to put a picture up. I managed to post up two things (a doodle and a Butch Hartman style me), and I'm currently pondering over how to post Lily up. Unfortunately, I don't know how to make the picture smaller or something, so that the same image can be the preview. HOW DOES THIS WORK?!?!?!?!?! I don't even know how I did it before!!!**

**On a cooler note: Go to my profile and vote on the poll please! I'll have you know I plan on basing that part of the story (check to find out!) directly on the poll results! So vote today (and yes it works for people under 21! Squee!)!!!**


	12. Dani's Debut Part 2

**Dani's Debut Part 2**

It took a while for him to realize it.

And she'd kinda been hoping he wouldn't.

"Dani, wait! You aren't supposed to be released to the press yet!" Dani gave him an innocent look and he smacked himself in the forehead.

"You knew that…didn't you." It was more a statement than question.

"Come on Danny! You know I'm ready! I can so beat ghostly butt, even the intangible kind!"

"But can you beat the reporters?"

"That's what Sam taught me the art of pressure points for! Duh!" Danny sighed.

"If you do that, you'll get viewed as an enemy! You have to be careful around paparazzi!" He saide, waving his arms around as if to mphasize his point.

"Says the guy who landed himself on the Public Enemy Chart as Big Ol' Number One!" Dani said with raised eyebrows. She knew that one was a sore spot.

Sure enough, Danny grimaced.

They stopped and Danny took Dani by the shoulders, flying her behind a billboard where they wouldn't be seen.

"I'm ready." Was the first thing out of Dani's mouth. Danny opened his mouth, then closed it. He sighed.

"…I know." He admitted.

"Then why are you being so stupid about this?!" Dani exploded. Danny didn't look her in the eyes.

"I don't want to plunge you headfirst into this."

"How else am I supposed to plunge?!" Danny winced again. Dani was getting impatient.

"Aragon is out here. And he only comes when he's got something big to do. And I don't want to see you get hurt by him." Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I know why." Dani, leaning against the billboard in a cool fashion. Danny looked at her quizzically.

"You have a sister complex."

"A what? Have you been talking to Jazz again?" Danny asked, sensing this was some psycho-mumbo-jumbo.

"Yes. I have. And a sister complex. It means when you're overprotective and care overbearingly about a sibling." Danny stared at her.

"As in, you're a nag!" Dani screamed at him. Danny sighed.

"Maybe you're ri-"

"BAM!" Dani gasped as Danny went crashing through the billboard, a purple dragon pinning him down by the claws.

Dani hesitated one moment. She thought about Danny's concerns. She wasn't scared in the least. This is what she had been created for, after all. But didn't she owe something to her brother…?

Danny slammed into the ground, and she saw the trickle of green coming from his arm from high up above. Her vision went red, and all inhibitions disappeared. She had made her choice.

"Yo! Lizard boy!" The dragon growled, head turning.

"Wham!" Dani's fist met his face solidly, and the dragon blinked, stunned.

"Just in case we're counting, that's the second time I've hit something with my fist today! Wanna try for three?" Dani shouted, smirking.

Danny took the moment to his advantage, wiggling out of its loose claws. He yelled something at Dani, but the dragon roared at her, so she couldn't hear.

Of course, a dragon crashing into the street was, though not bewildering in the least, **was **frightening**. **After all, it wasn't always a dragon! Sometimes it could be a fat guy in overalls!

So the residents, did the natural thing. Running. One thing for sure, they weren't a lot of overweight people in Amity Park!

But, with the screaming and running of town citizens, one thing could be promised. News trucks and people unconcerned for their lives' safety would soon appear. And they would notice the New Phantom. They would surely notice.

This didn't register in any of the Phantoms' minds though. They were too busy battling the demonic dragon out to kill them or destroy them within an inch of their afterlife. A very distracting thing indeed.

The dragon swung its tail at Dani, whom phased. However, the tail still caught her, sending her into a brick wall.

"What the?!" She asked, confused. Her back stung.

"Dani! You can't phase through him like that!" Danny shouted, blasting the dragon back from his sister. He had no time to ask her whether she was alright.

"Thanks for the update, in all its late glory!" She shouted, shooting at the dragon as well. It aimed its mouth at her and spewed fire. She yelped and ducked, flying out of the way.

"Dragon. Fire. Right. Got it!" She panted. Danny quickly shot forward, using his sister as the distraction. His hands boldly clamped over the dragon's mouth, and before it could swing its head, froze it with his ice powers.

The dragon paused for a moment, and Danny fastly released it and backed away. A moment passed and then the layers of ice exploded from its mouth.

"A lot of good that did!" Dani shouted. Danny flashed something akin to a grin at her. She raised an eyebrow.

"RAWWWWWWRRRR!" The dragon aimed its mouth at the both of them, and they flinched, both drawing shields up.

…

A lazy curl of smoke drifted out of the beast's throat. Dani looked at Danny, stunned, and he grinned again. Slowly, a smile drifted onto Dani's face, and she grinned back. Then they both smirked at the dragon simultaneously.

The dragon gulped down more smoke, and then gave them a look that clearly said "Uh-oh".

Both Phantoms charged ecto-blasts with opposite hands, then, smacked other hands together in a high-five. In one solid move, they shot forth both beams.

And for the first time together as Danny Phantom and Dani Phantom, the two Ghostly Super Heroes of Amity Park (or DP+DPt2GSHoAP for short), they beat a ghost. And the filmers caught every minute of it.

Later, Danny swooped down to the dazed dragon and beckoned Dani forward. Once she did so, he swiped off the large amulet on the dragon's neck. It shrunk down slowly and became the mangled form of Prince Aragon.

"Oh. So that's how it works." Dani nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Danny with puppy eyes.

"Can I have it?!"

"No." Danny answered flatly, ignoring his sister's pout. He carefully pocketed the amulet, and then took out his Fenton Thermos. He sucked in Aragon, then tossed the thermos to Dani, who caught it.

"Make sure that gets to…ahem…The Fentons." Dani looked at him strangely, then looked down, eyes wide, noticing the spectators, who were now cheering and staring at her in awe.

"OUTTA THE WAY!" A familiar vehicle banged through the other side of the road, parallel parking in a way that almost tipped it over. It landed with a bang, and Jack and Maddie wasted no time in jumping out, guns on their back.

Danny floated down, knowing the crowd wouldn't draw near with the ecto-weapons close.

Maddie gave the area an once-over, then turned to Danny. The crowd watched antsily.

"You took care of it?" She asked calmly, seeing the thermos in Dani's hand. She gestured, and Dani threw it to her. She caught it equally as calmly, and passed it to Jack, who fumbled before getting a grip.

The crowd gawked. One guy started foaming at the mouth and fainted.

"Next time you should really call us." Maddie said, putting a hand on Danny's shoulder. Dani almost laughed at the crowd's expression. Their eyes couldn't get any wider….

"Sorry Maddie, didn't have time." Would you look at that! She was wrong. This time Dani did laugh, and Danny turned to her quizzically, completely missing the stunned look on his mother's face. She wasn't used to the first name basis yet, that was for sure.

"Sorry, they're just, HAHA so, HA, oh god…" She gasped out, laughing so hard she put her head at her knees. Danny rolled his eyes and turned back to Maddie.

"It was Aragon. I'm not sure what he wanted though, he simply came after me and attacked." Maddie cocked her head.

"A fight for dominance?"

"Possibly."

"Want to discuss it at my house?" Dani let loose a hoot as the reporters mouths opened and closed like a fish, and they both turned to her, both shooting her None-of-this-being-ridiculous-and-laughing-while-we're-talking-seriously looks.

"Sure. See you in ten." Danny said, grabbing his sister as he floated upwards. Dani noticed he was going slowly deliberately, and raised an eyebrow. He nodded subtly to his left and Dani noticed.

The cavalry had arrived. With a vicious grin on her face, too.

The crowd gasped when the Red Huntress zoomed over, and they waited for the semi-lethal sparks to start flying between her and Danny.

What actually happened was a totally cheesy smile (Later Sam, Valerie and Dani would all agree, much to Danny's despair) blossomed on Danny's face.

"Hey Red!" He said. The crowd waited for the Mighty Huntress's response.

"Hey Dan. Hey Dani." Dani smiled largely, at both the audience and Valerie, and zoomed over to her.

"You totally should've seen it Red! Aragon was all down and menacing on Danny, and I went Wham! Right in the sucker!" Valerie laughed.

No wait, let that be repeated, just for emphasis.

Valerie, as the Red Huntress, known solely as the Red Huntress, with the largest vendetta possibly on the planet, hunting Danny Phantom only a little while after his known existence, **laughed.**

With said guy's **younger sister**.

The guy with the foaming mouth went into cardiac arrest (Later he was okay. He kept claiming about being from some non-existant island named Kyoshi, so they sent him to an insane asylum).

Dani swooped down and sat down on the edge of Valerie's board, swinging her legs happily. She hadn't asked to, but Valerie didn't seem to mind anyway.

"So Aragon was here?" Danny noted the extreme distaste in her voice. Sam had told her about the sexist guy, and since Valerie was an extreme feminist like Sam…

Well, you get the point.

"Hey! Wait a sec!" Dani said, squirming out of his grip. She silently floated over to the reporters, and immediately a million bulbs flashed in her face, everyone asking questions and thrusting microphones at her. She blinked, then grinned at Danny.

"If I don't become blind, I think I'll come to like these people." Danny and Valerie laughed. Together.

"I don't know, I still haven't." Valerie said amusingly. Danny looked at her in mock-shock.

"Red," He said in horror.

"**Please,** this is my **sister **we're talking about. Who else could **possibly **adapt to rumor-sucking gossip hounds?" Red paused, then conceded.

"True."

"Hey! Listen up!" Dani shouted. The crowd quieted.

"My name is Dani Phantom! That's D-A-N-I!!! And **that**, over there," She pointed to Danny who smiled slightly at the reference to himself. She waited as the cameras turned to him.

"Is my big brother, D-A-N-N-Y Phantom!" She flew over, and threw an arm around him, winking at the camera.

"And before you ask! I am NOT pretending and actually his child, and I am not explaining where I've been all this time!" She stuck out her tongue at the cameras. The reporters ate it all up, but they wanted more. Danny smiled, then clamped a hand over Dani's mouth, who looked at him in surprise, then tried to wiggle free.

"One more thing!" Danny added. Cameras turned to him.

"**We** are officially working together with the Fentons, and are currently friends with them. That goes for Red too. Of course, I never actually didn't get along with her, but **someone **was holding a grudge they just **couldn't** see past, and-Ouch!" Danny yelped, trying to refrain from rubbing his sore posterior. He turned and settled an accusatory glare on Valerie, who smiled innocently, holding a smoking ecto-gun.

Both girls giggled as Danny swung back to the audience, face dark as he grumbled about women and their issues.

"Moving on, this information does **not **give you permission to invade their privacy or the Fenton's children's personal lives! That does **not **give you permission to trespass on their property, or Casper High's or Casper Middle's!"

Later they would wonder why he had included that school.

"And just to be on the safe side!" Danny said thoughtfully, his hand clamping over Dani's mouth once more as she opened it to say something. She glared at him balefully, and he shrugged in response.

"Any idiots who decide to hit on my sister will get horribly beaten up then incinerated within an inch of their life, suffering from third degree burns that will painfully scar their bodies for the rest of their miserable lives." Danny delivered that line with a cheerful face, green eyes flashing suddenly with malice at the end, and microphones fell from limp hands.

After all, Danny Phantom had never made threats before. He obviously cared about this girl. It both excited them…and slightly scared them.

Dani was glaring at him now and he shrugged at her.

"Now that that's been said, good day to you, people of Amity Park." Dani rolled her eyes as he reenacted his ol' "Hero" tone. Acting like he had never said anything, he swooped away, Dani pushing his hand at the last second.

"You stupid Phantom! What the heck was that for?! Don't run away, I'm still yelling at you!" Her voice got fainter as she angrily took after him. Danny's laugh also reached their ears faintly.

That was another new sound. Women swooned, some seethed jealously, others just smiled (that was mostly the mothers and young children, along with big brothers sympathetic to Danny's plight).

Danny Phantom was a hero. It was nice to see him acting…human. And he had a sister! Reporters turned to their cameras, most reporting live, and then realized where the Phantoms would next appear, rather soon in fact.

The Fenton House.

Valerie smiled, mostly forgotten as the reporters packed up. She opened a little communication device on her arm, whispering,

"Complete success. They're on their way. Be there in a few." And then she too, zoomed away, only a few people realizing that she was heading in the same exact direction as the one the Phantom's had taken previously…

--

Both Phantoms were laughing hard when they landed in the Fenton home. As soon as they landed, they were greeted with more laughter, coming from Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Jack, and Maddie.

"Nicely done you two." Jazz said, grinning.

"Yeah. You pulled off the overbearing brother perfectly Danny. And the bratty but rockin' little sis was extremely well acted." Dani curtsied lopsidedly with a grin at Sam. Danny also grinned.

"Well, that was only Part 1 of Operation: Introduce Dani to Paparazzi. (ID2P for short) And thanks Sam for that evil line at the end, I think I got the message across." Dani then whirled around to glare at him.

"Yeah, how come that line was never in rehearsal?! Or the slapping your hand on **my mouth part?!**" Dani scowled. Danny winced. Jazz smiled and waltzed over, putting her arm around her little sister.

"I told you Dani. All in the sister complex he's got going on."

"I do not!" Danny denied, Tucker laughing hysterically.

"Uh Man, you totally do. You should've seen yourself. In fact, I'll show you." He rewound the news that had been playing on the television, and replayed Danny's threat over and over again.

"It even gives me the chills!" Valerie landed, looking at that scene as she detransformed. She gave Danny a bemused look, and he shrugged.

Maddie smiled, then something caught her eyes. A slight green tinge…that was gradually getting bigger.

"Danny!" Danny grimaced at her mother's shriek. Everyone turned to her and she immediately turned to Jack.

"Honey, get the first aid kit." He nodded, and the rest of the group turned to Danny, trying to figure out what was wrong. Their eyes soon caught his sleeve, where ectoplasm was seeping through, along with his shoulder.

Sam sighed, and Tucker rolled his eyes. Jazz scowled and Dani put her hands on her hips. Valerie's mouth twisted.

"Daaaaanny…." They all dragged out in unison, sharing the exasperation. Danny shrugged innocently, laughing nervously.

"Ah yeah… I guess I forgot?" 5 Groans were elicited.

"Oh come on guys, it's not-"

"That bad. We know." Sam and Tucker chorused. Jack tossed the kit to Maddie who immediately commanded Danny to take off his shirt.

"Seriously, you think he could get run over by a truck, completely tangible, and he'd wonder whether the **driver **was alright!" Valerie said, throwing her arms heavenward. She'd only been part of the team for a week or so, and she already was getting a whiff of his hero complex.

He did so, albeit reluctantly, and she slowly applied pressure, trying to get the ectoplasm to stop flowing before she bandaged. His eyes narrowed as he bit back pain.

Dani sighed.

"Does he always-?"

"Yep." Came the answer. Everyone suddenly felt tired and concerned.

As Maddie bandaged, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker nudged each others. Glancing at the clock, they started to move around the room, tugging down window blinds and locking doors.

"Hey, what are you-?" Dani realized, looking at the clock. Maddie bit her lip, also realizing their press for time.

"They should be here any minute now. Danny,"

"I know," Danny got up, but Maddie pushed him back down, starting to bandage. He protested, but she silenced him with a sharp glare.

Dani started to help pull down the blinds.

A few minutes later there was banging on the door. Through the blinds, light flashed repeatedly and voices started up, some loud, others soft. Insults were made against the Fentons, some vivid curses (which made all 4 women clap their hands over Dani's ears, much to her annoyance), other screams, and yelling for the Phantoms to come out.

There were also the Phans, who gradually greatly outweighed the haters in noise. They too chorused for the Phantoms to show themselves.

Danny stood up, making sure not to stretch his limbs out as Maddie finished the last bit of gauze. He smiled reassuringly at her, then quickly reassessed the situation with everyone, making sure they all had their part down.

Also rather quickly, he cloned himself, placing the human Danny on the couch.

"Everyone in position?" He asked. They nodded and he took a deep breath, making way for the door.

His hand grasped the knob, and Sam's eyes widened, gasping,

"Wait Danny! You don't have on your-!"

"FLASH!" "OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Danny slammed the door suddenly, leaning against it, a very red color on his face and down his neck, and even flushing across his broad chest, which was currently bare and shirtless. In his haste, he had forgotten to put it on, something he had realized when 1/3 of the crowd fainted.

"Hehe, oops?" He said softly. Sam glared at him.

"Way to go dude. You just displayed something that was supposed to be for Sam's eyes only." Tucker said. Dani high-fived him, giggling and he grinned. Finally someone appreciated his lovebird comments!

Sam grew scarlet, eyes angry and ran upstairs. His suit was currently covered in ectoplasm. When she came back down, a sweater was in her hands, which she quickly threw at him.

"No seriously. Way to go." Dani whispered to him, the boy peeking out from under the wool on his head.

Pandemonium was happening now, as many viewers wondered if the Phantom had turned stripper and would soon appear naked on the doorstep.

Okay, they **dreamed** of it. Only the authoress could make them admit it though.

Thankfully, the more rational reporters took note and also reminded their viewers of the bandages on his shoulder and arm. The question was, had one of the Fenton's patched him up?

When the door opened again, they held their breath.

Girls fainted again.

Danny wore one of those comfy black sweaters, but not the overly thick kind. It was one that clung to his lean chest, and it made him seem, well…snuggly.

Okay, now the authoress is drooling.

Only **slightly** though! Only **slightly**!

Viewers made a mental note to get a boyfriend, and then buy him that sweater.

Danny laughed nervously, rubbing his neck, then mentally slapped himself. Heroic, Phantom, Heroic.

He straightened out and subtlely pushed out his chest.

"Ahem," He went into hero voice.

"We're currently discussing a current problem with ghost infiltration in the city, so if all of you wouldn't mind vacating the premises…"

"Phantom! Why did you come out shirtless before?!" Uncharacteristically, he went red. The press loved it.

"Uh…that was a mistake." He said dumbly.

"Oh for the love of-" Someone pushed him out of the way, and he slammed into the door post with his bad shoulder, groaning and slipping downwards. The people watching from inside the house and outside winced simultaneously. Jazz Fenton stood with her hands on the hips and eyed the crowd, who was currently gasping at her boldness.

"Guys, we have work to do. It's pretty hard to protect the whole town you know!"

"And what is your active role in this meeting?" A reporter shouted. Jazz swung to face him.

"I provide the mental support. And since I've grown up around ghosts and happen to be a very good friend of the Phantoms, I also have very important inputs. Tell 'em Danny!" She grabbed the dazed boy by the collar, who once again blinked, then said dumbly,

"Uh, yeah, she does."

"Yes I do! And it's hard to concentrate when someone's pounding on your door constantly! May I remind you you're passing on private property and we can sick the police on you?!"

"Maybe the police should be called on you sickos!" Someone shouted.

Jazz glared, then composed herself. Calmly, but with fists clenched, she spat out,

"We are certainly not doing anything illegal in here, I assure you. And maybe you should reconsider how you are speaking to the guy who has kept you safe for a very long time, and only saved the **entire world** about 2 months ago!" Danny blinked, as she grabbed his collar and yanked him again. He stood up then, trying to regain composure. He coughed, blushing slightly, going into teenager voice this time.

"Look guys," Suddenly he seemed to be on a more personal level with the press. His eyes were weary and tired.

"All we're trying to do is talk about how to protect the town. We're all unofficial pros at ghost hunting, but look at me!" Oh, they were looking at him alright (A/N: **Author slams head on desk** Stupid line, stupid line…).

"I'm only a teenager! I can't do it alone. I'm trying to help, and I'm trying to keep the peace. And it would help a lot, if you would just **stay away."** He looked at them seriously. He met eyes with a lot of people, and it was just like that. In some weird way, by some strange force, they **understood**. Not all, but many.

"And hey, look! Jazz and Danny are really fun to hang out with! Makes me feel like I'm still alive." He threw his arm over Jazz's shoulder and grinned goofily. She grinned back and noogied him.

"Hey!"

"You had it coming." She said, shrugging. Then human Danny came over, Tucker and Sam quickly fitting through. Tucker swung his arms over everyone.

"That's us! The-uh-5 Amigos! Pals! Buddies! Friends For-Ev-Ah!"

"They get it Tuck." Everyone stated firmly, then laughed, arms still around each others shoulders awkwardly.

"Hey! Where do Red and I come in?" Val, now in hunter garb, and Dani appeared. Dani pouted.

Both Danny's grinned. Then Dani got a mischevious light in her eyes and she raised her eyebrows. She crouched, then ran at them,

"Geronimo!"

"DANI NO!" Too late. Everyone was knocked over, back into the living room. Valerie, whistling, strode after them.

The crowd stared, gaping, gawking, stunned, AND dumbfounded. Wow. Just…wow.

Maddie appeared, Jack behind her, effectively muffling her giggles with her hand. She looked at the crowd with a straight face, then a small smile cracked it.

"Well, what can I say? I'm a mom, and if you're a parent, you know the age-old phrase. Kids will be kids." She smiled gently.

"We were wrong about him." She said, voice full of compassion and understanding. She was admitting it.

"We were wrong about the kind of person he is. He's a boy, he's a child, and he's a hero. I hope you all can see that. And I hope that's enough for you to give him a break. Good-bye." And with that, she calmly shut the door.

"Well that didn't go entirely according to plan." Dani said, helping her moaning brother up. It seemed he had landed on his shoulder. Dani wasn't JUST talking about knocking them down though, she was talking about the whole thing. Jazz looked a little shame-faced.

"Jasmine! You've never been one to lose your temper!" Maddie scolded. Jazz scowled.

"Sometimes they make me so angry!" She said acidly. Maddie sighed.

As soon as Danny was set against the couch (who wouldn't stop moaning about being abused by the females), Dani took note of the lessened noise. It seemed they had successfully gotten rid of the reporters.

"What now?" She asked, gazing at her brother curiously. He shrugged, then winced, noting not to do that again for a while.

"Sooner or later someone's going to leak out you're in the middle school. But press can't cross onto the school grounds without getting immediately hounded by the police. Still, I don't want you wandering out of the school grounds at any time. Don't leave without an escort. The Guys in White can't touch me or anyone I'm associated with as part of our agreement, but if someone captures you when I'm not looking, well-"

Danny trailed off. No one wanted him to finish his sentence, and he didn't either. Dani frowned slightly, but took a deep breath and calmed herself.

"So I go to school, you go to school, and we act like nothing ever happened?" Danny shook his head.

"We all know it happened Dani, we just have to act like it doesn't affect us that much. Like we don't care." Everyone nodded thoughfully, Valerie powering down again.

"Well, that's that then. What was it about Aragon again?"

"Oh yeah, well you see-"

"Oh, I've got some cookies-yes you two, they were storebought, you can stop looking at me-let me go get them!"

"I'm making hot cocoa! Anybody want fudge?"

"Come and sit down over here. Hey Dani, over here!"

Both Phantoms shared a glance as everyone got comfy. This strange family, this strange team. It was theirs. And moments like these, where everyone was together, even if it was to discuss mutant human-dragon ghosts, these were special.

And they loved them.

**Whoo! That was looo-ooong! And it took forever. I have no doubt that some of this was OOC, but I can't really bring myself to care! Poor Danny, I abuse him so much. It must be the sadistic female in me. **

**I read over the chapter. GOD I LOVE CUTE DANNY!!!! SNUGGLES!!!!! Okay, I'm done now. I can't help it though. I REALLY liked those parts. Man, DP was shirtless. Now I know you're probably thinking I did that for the sake of doing it. Little Artgirl4 is naughty!!! I'll have you know that was only PARTIALLY true!!! They saw his wound, you see, his wound!!! They knew he got hurt, so, so…ah, who'm I kidding? Danny shirtless = SQUEEE!!!!**

**I'm high on fanfiction. Don't bring me down.**

**Artgirl4!!**


	13. Dani's Debut Part 3

**Dani's Debut Part 3**

"Guys, I've rethought my whole plan…"

"No way Danny,"

"Sorry Man, we aren't letting you escape this time."

"It was worth a shot."

Danny sighed as he let himself be dragged into the doors of Casper High. Jazz followed closely behind, watching their backs for any surprise mobs.

Under Mr. Lancer and Principal Ishiyama's suggestion, the group had entered inconspicuously from the back. So far, it had worked.

Jazz smiled at him, and slapped him on the back, hard.

"Come on, what happened to the mature, "in control" Danny from last night? Don't tell me it was another apparition you brought forward to hide your inner turmoil!" Jazz grinned sheepishly at all three teens looked at her in blank confusion.

"Whoever he was, he's gone now." Tucker said cheerfully. Danny looked at him dryly, but he just smiled.

"Thanks Tuck."

"Anytime Buddy."

Sam snorted.

"Tucker and I, and Jazz, have already dealt with this. So we're kinda used to it. And Dani's in school right now, waiting for the reporters any second. So please excuse me when I say 'Suck it up and be a man'."

"Wow. You managed to make that seem so threatening and still whisper! That is so ho-Shutting up now." Danny said in response to Sam's glare.

It was true though. They were all whispering. That's because they were only just entering the main hallway.

The minute they walked out, talking ceased. Everyone stared as the group huddled closer together and walked down.

Sending an apologetic smile and whisper of good luck, Jazz patted them on the backs and separated to her locker. Some people stuck around to talk to her, mostly the seniors in the high school.

When they reached their lockers, Danny opened his and stuck his head into it immediately, gathering his stuff and moving it around aimlessly.

"Dude, calm down." Tucker said, relaxing against his own locker amidst the stares.

"Don't worry about it Dan, what can they do? Demand that you take them to Danny Phantom?" Sam said sarcastically.

"FENTON!" Someone yelled. Danny took his head of his locker painfully slowly, and in a split second Dash was pinning him against his now closed locker's door.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW PHANTOM?! HE'S TOO COOL FOR YOU GEEKS!" Danny grimaced, but made no move to wipe the spit off his face.

"Well Dash, it's quite simple." Tucker said, pushing his glasses up and taking out his PDA. Dash looked at him angrily, still pushing Danny against the lockers.

The crowd now forming stared at him too.

"Take it away Sam!" Tucker said, laughing nervously. Sam rolled her eyes, then ticked off her fingers.

"We're not nearly as shallow, we were his first friends when he came out of the portal, he likes us better, we are capable of intelligent though, we don't care about his powers or his image-"

"And what exactly does Phantom see in **you, **Manson? You're just a goth!" Paulina said, coming up next to Dash. The crowd instantly parted for her, then reformed.

Sam rolled her eyes.

"I could retell you the entire list if you'd like. And FYI Paulina, Danny P. thinks I'm much more unique than any of you A-Listers." Sam said. Paulina started to steam from the first-name basis, and Dash's eyes narrowed, focusing in on Danny.

"I'd really like to hear it from Phantom himself Fenturd, but he's not here right now. So why don't I just pound you so you can go whine and he can realize what a crybaby weakling you are?!" Dash said menacingly. He began to pull back his fist.

"Except I don't go cry to Phantom Dash! And Danny says he owes you one for the incident with Skulker, so he wouldn't pound on you anyway!" Danny spat, worming out of Dash's grip.

Dash blinked at the backbone Danny displayed.

"How do you know about that?!" He asked. Danny dodged as he charged at him.

"We're friends, remember? Really Dash, your memory seems to be very short-term, you might wanna get that fixed." A few kids in the crowd snickered.

Paulina went for another approach.

"Wow Danny, standing up for yourself is so….cool…." Paulina said, suddenly taking his arm and running her hands down it. She stopped suddenly and her brow furrowed. Had she actually felt something there?-

Danny snatched his arm away.

"Thanks Paulina, but you don't have to think anything. I wouldn't set you up with Danny even if I was forced to listen to Technus for a millennia." Sam and Tucker giggled, and Danny grinned. Then, in a sudden act of boldness, he put his arm around Sam, who went slightly frozen.

The crowd oohed.

"Besides, I have a girlfriend, and she's a lot cooler, prettier, and more unique than you. And I'm pretty sure Danny P. agrees with me there." The crowd gasped (and a few whistled), then automatically parted as Sam, Danny, and Tucker went through, Danny's arm still around a now-smirking Sam.

Danny seemed to remember something though, because he now turned around to the fuming Paulina and Dash.

"Oh and about Danielle?" the crowd perked.

"She's twelve, and I agree with Dan. Any of you idiots make a move on her and I'll sick Phantom on you." His eyes narrowed, and immediately the crowd felt no doubt that he was just as protective as DP. He then turned around, and the group walked off rather…coolly. The others followed.

"You're messing with the hierarchy of school." Sam exclaimed as they walked to class. Danny's arm was now around her waist, and she didn't seem to mind.

"I like it!" She exclaimed again, glowing with an evil happiness. Tucker shivered and backed away.

"No offense Sam, but you're kinda scaring me." He said. Danny grinned.

"Man that's hot-shutting up again." Danny looked away innocently. As he walked into the classroom Mr. Lancer's gaze dropped to Danny's arm around Sam's waist. Danny's arm dropped after a moment, and they went to sit down.

A little into the period, Tucker nudged Danny, and gestured to the windows. Danny glanced discreetly and winced. He could see the reporting vans, instead of swarming around his school, heading over in another direction.

The middle school's direction.

He crossed his fingers.

"Good luck Dani…good luck."

Then, with a last resolute stare, turned back to Mr. Lancer's lesson…until his ghost sense went off.

"Mr. Lancer!" Danny raised his hand suddenly. Mr. Lancer turned to him, eyes sharp and alert.

"I have a-ur-problem with my-uh-Will you excuse me a sec?" He fumbled in his pockets as Sam sighed and Tucker pinched the bridge of his nose. Mr. Lancer turned his eyes upwards as well.

Danny found the slip of paper and opened it up, then, clearly reading off of it, stated,

"I am currently having some trouble with my…colon…may I be excused?"

"Yes you may Mr. Fenton. Please do let a teacher know if you plan on missing next period." To his credit, Mr. Lancer kept a straight face. If someone had been looking, they might've noticed his hands were shaking.

Danny nodded and grinned, then blinked and groaned, doubling over to hide the blue smoke now pouring out of his mouth.

"I think it might be a bad one. I'll let the nurse know." He then high-tailed it out of the room.

Mr. Lancer gulped, then turned to the blackboard so the kids wouldn't see him wiping his sweaty palms on his pants.

--

Dani groaned loudly as Ms. Sanderson pulled the last blind down, blocking the flashes of many cameras. While the other children were outside or in the cafeteria, she was there.

Inside the classroom.

Resting her head on her desk.

Ms. Sanderson gave her a sympathetic glance, then snuck one last look through the blinds. She winced.

"Let me guess. Protesters?"

"Not many Dani. I think your brother doing what he did helped in that aspect." Ms. Sanderson smiled, then hastily added,

"Not that I'd ever suggest he did it for that reason or-"

"It's okay Ms. S. I know." Dani smiled. Ms. Sanderson sat at her desk.

"Anybody call for some attitude-adjusters?" Dani perked and turned to Lily, grinning. She tackled the girl to the floor, who yelped.

"Yes!! Thank you for the cavalry!" Lily groaned.

"I get it, I get it, get offa me already!" Dani did so, and Alex kneeled down by Lily.

"I am so glad I'm a guy. Girls are too rough. At least the ones I know anyway."

Dani shook herself and glanced at Alex curiously.

"What about Gabriella? You guys no each other pretty well, right?"

There was an awkward silence. Alex looked away, and Lily (who had gotten up) suddenly seemed interested in the floor, her face blank.

Dani bit her lip.

"Umm, never mind. Oh, hey Kevin!" Kevin, who had been passing through the halls, looked up.

"Oh, um, hey, D-D-Dani." Dani grinned.

"Hello to you too Kekekevin. You wanna eat lunch with us?" He smiled shyly and nodded.

"Uh, sure." She took his hand and pulled him inside to where the others had already situated themselves in a cluster of desks.

Soon the kids were talking busily, and Ms. Sanderson smiled from behind her book. She had noticed the changes.

In the time Dani had been here, Kevin had slowly gotten less nervous. Lily smiled a lot more. And the foursome had grown surprisingly close in such a short period of time.

Dani suddenly went stiff.

"Hey, something wrong?" Alex asked. Lily rolled her eyes.

"No, of course not, she just stopped talking in the middle of a sentence for no reason."

"Really?"

"No moron! Dani, what's up?"

"You okay?" Kevin asked, touching her softly.

"Shhh." Dani said suddenly.

"You hear that?" The others strained, even Ms. Sanderson. There it was. Slowly…someone's voice…yelling.

Dani stood up, her ghost sense springing from her mouth.

"May I be excused?" She asked Ms. Sanderson, her ghost sense coming up in short puffs.

"Dani, why is it coming out so much?" Lily asked, half-used to the ghost sense.

At the same time, "You're going to fight a ghost? Cool!" Alex spurted.

And then Ms. Sanderson, everyone talking at once, "But your brother doesn't want you leaving under any circumstances, even a ghost Danielle, and-"

Kevin made nervous sounds.

"No." Dani said suddenly. Everyone stopped talking at once.

"This isn't just one ghost. Or two." Her face was troubled.

"This is-AHHH!" Suddenly her body was whisked away by some invisible force, through the walls, papers flying up and desks blowing backwards.

"Danielle!" Ms. Sanderson shouted.

"Dani!" Danny yelled, coming through the roof and landing on the floor harshly.

"Where is she?!" Danny asked none too calmly looking from person to person. Lily looked at him, for once truly frightened.

"I-she-Dani was-"

Danny looked at the state of the room and swore under his breath.

"Too late. Stay here, and get all of the kids indoors." Ms. Sanderson's breath caught, as did the others.

This Danny was different from the one before. This one was the rumored Danny Phantom, the hero, the fighter.

And he was ready for a fight.

Ms. Sanderson ran outside without another thought, the others following her as Danny swooped out of the ceiling. Immediately he was surrounded by camera flashes, and a large group of ghosts.

"Hello child." Skulker stepped forward. Danny grit his teeth.

"Where's. Dani?" He spat. One of the ghosts growled.

"I don't think you're in any position to be acting insolent ghost child! You should respect your elders-ouch!" Technus rubbed his stomach, and hastily added,

"I mean, your beautiful and young arch-enemies!" He declared in his nasally voice. Spectra nodded approvingly, retracting her elbow.

"Speak for yourself tech-geek. I think the disrespect rocks. As long as its not aimed at me." Ember spoke up, hands on her hips. A smirk was alight on her face, and her hair flared dangerously.

"Where is she?" Danny ground out again, his eyes narrowed so dangerously. The ghosts started laughing, not noticing Danny shaking angrily.

With a flash he shot forward, catching Bertrand by the collar and shaking him. The laughter immediately ceased and the ghosts stared with increasing curiosity.

"GIVE DANI BACK." Danny stated, looking straight into Bertrand's eyes. Bertrand laughed, but his voice quavered a little.

"As Technus stated before child, you're hardly in the position to be bargaining for a prisoner. You need two main components first," Walker said. Danny glanced at him, then released Walker, and purposefully strode on the air towards him.

"Then tell me what they are." He said, meeting Walker's gaze.

"The first is the setting. Time and place are important kid, and this is hardly the place to be looking for a fight." Walker said, a calm and easy but cold smile on his face. Danny nodded.

"And the second is you've gotta have something to bargain with. That's how the game is played, rule by rule." Danny stepped back and faced all of the ghosts.

"I have Aragon." He stated. Another barrage of laughter was coaxed from the ghosts heartily.

"We couldn't care less about that fool. No boy, you just bring yourself." Skulker threw a crumpled piece of paper at him, which he caught.

"Invite those gold-diggers if you want." Kitty said, smiling.

"I could always use some good publicity." Ember smiled as well.

"Heck, who cares if its bad. Someone out there's gotta enjoy watching dipstick being eliminated." She smiled innocently, strumming her guitar a little.

"If you touch her-" Danny started. Skulker frowned, as did the other ghosts. Without another word, they disappeared. Danny looked at the address on the piece of paper, then burned it with ectoplasm. It disintegrated in his hands.

He was feeling dramatic.

Without another glance at the spectators, he flew off to the location, as fast as a bullet.

**In case you're wondering, things are being changed around a bit. I'm going to be redoing the Episode Summary chapter, because this is going to have the whole "Dani being called a clone" thing. Just letting you guys know! Get ready, fight scene on the way!**

**I'm sorry for the long wait. Absolutely inexcusable, I know. Plus I have no excuse, which makes it doubly more pathetic. Feel free to kick the authoress (unless you know where I live, in which case it wouldn't be a virtual kick, thus hurting, which is gonna cost big time)!**

**Artgirl4**


	14. Dani's Debut Part 4

**Dani's Debut Part 4**

_"288 Million 465 thousand, 129 bottles of beer on the wall, 288 Million 465 thousand 129 bottles of beer…"_

"Shut up!"

_"Take one down, pass it around, 288 million, 465 thousand, 128 bottles of beer on the wall-"_

"Somebody take out her vocal cords. Please."

"_288 million, 465 thousand, 128 bottles of beer on the wall, 288 million 465 thousand, 128 bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around-"_

"I swear I'll let one of you have the first hit, so please, just take out her **stinkin' vocal cords!**"

"As tempted as I am Kitty-cat,"

_"Wait, where was I? Aw well, away we go! 300 Million bottles of beer on the wall, 300 Million bottles of beer,"_

"-And I **am **tempted, I'm not about to dirty my hands. The only blood I want on 'em is her brother's. Besides, you're not in charge of who gets the first hit. Its every ghost for themselves, remember?"

"I very much doubt this female version of the whelp is his actual sibling Ember. I have happened to have hunted him for a, ahem, while and the only sister he has is the red-headed smart one. It's hard enough for me to believe **they're **related, she's incredibly intelligent and-"

"Yeah, yeah Pops, we all have heard your great stalker-slash-failures at Fenton's. But what else could she be, his kid?"

There was a long silence.

"You don't think-"

"He did display some fatherly emotions back there-"

"But who would-"

"He did have an affection for-"

"That goth twerp! It was love if I ever saw it-"

"No way, they're just teens themselves, besides-"

"He likes that Hispanic! You know, the really pretty one who wears the hot clothes-"

"No way he would score with her, she's too hot! And he likes the goth more-"

"But they've never made a move. What do you think, they suddenly-"

"Last time I stalk-ahem, checked, he was dating the Hunter girl."

"Ha! That was all my, Technus' the Matchmaker's, doing! Ingenious, is it not?"

"Not really Geek. I'm pretty sure they're over."

"But he still likes the creepy girl right?! They seem **soo** cute together and-"

"Hmm, it appears the prey if incredibly fickle with his choice of women, and none seem to have been successful-"

"I know something." Murmured a soft voice. The other ghosts turned towards it.

"Well?"

"I had gone through a ghost portal before the "incident"."

There was a universal shudder. No one liked to hear about the incident, and the near losses of their homes.

"I followed the ghost kid when they traveled over to do the whole, uh, thing and I saw-"

"What?!"

"Oh my god, she is his kid, isn't she?!"

"Hmm. The whelp has become a man."

"Dang!"

"No, no! I saw, I saw, um, I saw thegothgirlandhimkissing!"

Another long silence.

"Pardon?"

"Whoo, bay-bee!"

"So he **did **hook up with her, finally!"

"Heh, took him long enough."

"This would be good material for the next impromptu emotion-draining session. God knows his love his boundless for that girl."

"You knew?!"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?!"

"I know, isn't it awesome! They are **so **sweet together, and Danny's been so clueless for so long! Even **I **could tell, and I'm supposed to be the young and innocent one!"

There was another long pause. The ghosts turned to the gushing voice and Dani's face froze, the ecstatic smile slowly slipping off her face, her hands slowly unwrapping themselves from the bars that imprisoned her.

"Hehehe…"

"…"

"Where was I? Oh, right_, 299 Million, 999 thousand, 981 bottles of beer on the wall, 299 Million-"_

"SHUT UP!" Dani grinned sheepishly as the ghosts lowered their ectoplasm-ready hands.

"Geez, she's as bad as the ghost child."

"But who **is** she?" The ghosts studied her incredulously.

"Didn't your mothers ever tell you it was impolite to stare?" Dani asked, hands on her hips. All of them were hit with a sudden bout of déjà vu.

"Amazing…" Skulker murmured.

"I could run some DNA tests on the child, surely something will turn up-" Dani slapped away Technus' hand as he reached for her hair, a look of disgust on her face. She backed away from the front of the cage.

"Geez Skulky, didn't you have anything nicer to put me in? You've never read the book, "Hospitality for Dummies?" Or robots in this case, but I think you could qualify for both…"

"Silence girly." Walker said, placing his boot against one of the bars. Dani rolled her eyes.

"She certainly makes comebacks like the doof." Ember said agitatedly. Dani grinned and bowed.

"Why thank you Miss Punk. I'm glad to know I have the wit of the guy who, oh, kicked all of your butts." Dani smirked.

"That's very good to know." All of the ghosts glared at her angrily.

"She certainly annoys me like Dan." Johnny 13 said, brandishing his motorcycle handlebars.

"Yeah, they could be, like, twins!" Kitty exclaimed, rubbing her chin and squinting at Dani. Dani groaned.

"Really, this was the best you guys could come up with? You've been gone for a month, and all you've got is a cage that holds ghosts? Haven't you already tried that Skulker?" Dani asked, boredly. Skulker gritted his metallic teeth.

"There's a difference kid, one you don't have the wisdom nor experience to spot. And neither will your brother." Walker smiled, and kicked at the cage suddenly. Dani jumped back, slightly startled, and the ghosts laughed as she glared.

"So he's as good as dead." Dani's eyes widened a fraction, and the ghosts, spotting it, laughed harder.

"Wait, wait!" Kitty said suddenly. She shoved Walker aside, who shrugged it off a little angrily. She completely ignored him however, and pointed at Dani.

"If the twerp is a halfa, what's she?"

There was a long drawn out silence.

"Isn't it obvious?" Dani asked, her hand holding up her head boredly. The ghosts leaned closer as she beckoned them forward.

"I'm…" They leaned closer.

"His kick-butt sister!" She flew forward at the bars knocking them all back, startled. She clutched her stomach and laughed hard as the ghosts all glared.

"Forget the halfa. Let's finish her! Shadow!" Johnny 13 called him forth.

"No! Do not forget our true prey." Skulker said firmly.

"You mean me?" The ghosts turned fast as Danny appeared. There was a yelp, and they turned around, looking at Dani who was rubbing her head, a boomerang in her hand.

"What the heck is this?!" She ground out, glaring at Danny. He shrugged.

"It found you, didn't it? Besides, I've been hit by that thing a lot more than you have." He winced from the memory. A black flash took him down as he was distracted.

"DANNY!" Dani screamed. Danny wrestled Shadow as Johnny 13 laughed. Kitty giggled.

"My boy got 'im first, so I get second!" She kissed her hand and blew, a giant electric lip-shaped blast flying at Danny. Shadow held him and it hit the boy squarely, sending him smashing into a nearby tree.

"We're in a forest, you know what that means baby pop?" Ember asked, slamming down on her guitar. Danny was picked up by the sound waves as Dani hit the bars of her cage repeatedly.

"Uh, we can appreciate the beauty of nature to the fullest?" Danny asked weakly. Ember's face turned dark.

"Nope. It means there's plenty of trees to take you down with, or, let you take down." She drew out the word and her sound waves threw Danny towards Lunch Lady. The woman had a gigantic drumstick of chicken and she hit Danny with it like a bat hitting a baseball.

"Oh-Come on-!" Danny crashed into another tree, taking it down, as Ember had predicted.

The dust cleared, and Danny was down on the ground. He was getting up by an elbow when a boot appeared, pushing him down to the ground.

"DANNY!" Dani screamed again as Walker lifted him up by the collar. Danny smiled and Walker growled.

"Dude, and I thought Johnny's breath smelled. Let's fix that." Walker flew back, Danny releasing himself. He held up a hand, little round buttons with smiley faces with fangs between each finger.

"Fenton Shockers. Not exactly a breath mint, but I guess our definitions of 'fixing' may be a little different." He shrugged just as he dodged another large missile from Skulker, jumping into a tree branch just to be tackled to the ground by Bertrand. He was about to kick upwards but both the wolf's paws were set down on him, then transformed into a sumo wrestler.

"Well," Danny puffed,

"This is new." The sumo wrestler grinned.

"You like it? Perfect for pinning down your enemies and ripping their faces off." The sumo wrestler leaned in and Danny gulped.

"Can't we talk about this first? I know a great little sushi place, it even comes with karaoke!"

"Hold him down Bertrand. It's time." Spectra smiled, come behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder, then reconsidering and removing the hand, wiping it on her pants.

Dani struggled against Shadow's grip.

"Leggo! Let go of me!!!" She kicked and her leg went through the black entity. Skulker chuckled as both Phantoms were held together. Danny almost seemed to calm down a fraction when he saw Dani.

"So child, who is this girl?" Skulker said curiously, leaning in close to the ghost boy.

"You know, Walker's not the only one who needs a breath mint, if you catch my drift." Skulker growled and punched Danny in the stomach, who looked as if the breath had been knocked out of him.

"Enough with the impudence! Ember, do it!" Skulker commanded. Ember fixed him with a look, hands on hips.

"Ahem, I mean, dearest flame, if you don't mind…?" Skulker politely inquired. The other ghosts snickered, and both Phantoms smirked a little despite their situation.

"If I may explain?" Technus said, coming forward. There was a mutually soft groan of annoyance, but Skulker waved for him to continue. Technus gave his best superior smile to the children, and began his lecture.

"You see child, this cage is an invention of mine," He gestured to it wildly behind him, where Ember seemed to be strumming her guitar and tuning it. Both Phantoms opened their mouths, doubtlessly about to make a retort but both ghosts held them a little tighter. Their mouths shut with a snap.

"And of course it is no ordinary cage. This cage absorbs ecto-energy!" Their eyebrows shot up, and Technus took pride in the fact. Dani remembered shooting at the cage originally. Her blasts had just disappeared into the cage, and it had flashed briefly then gone dark. So that's why…

"But, of course, we need a power source, which is exactly what Ember-"

"That's McLain to you, Geek." Ember snorted, adjusting the strap on her guitar and tuning at the same time.

Technus coughed.

"Yes, well, Ms. McLain here will be using her guitar. Originally we were going to use Aragon's amulet, but," All of their eyes narrowed.

"He got a little impatient." Technus finished.

"And once the cage is powered by Ms. McLain's ectoplasmic energy from her guitar, we can-"

Technus was interrupted by the arrival of a black horse. Danny's eyes widened and Dani glanced at him questioningly.

"I am here. Now what is it you have so urgently need that requires me awakening?" The Fright Knight boomed, looking at the ghosts with obvious disdain in his voice. They all glared, but Skulker and Technus merely smiled.

"Ah Fright Knight, thank you for joining us." The ghost glanced at Skulker suspiciously, before noticing the two ghosts pinned down. His smile grew large and menacing.

"Well, if isn't the ghost child. And I suppose this is his infamous double?" The Fright Knight oozed smugness. Both Phantoms glared at him.

"Ahem, if I may continue?" Technus asked, a touch annoyed. The Fright Knight gazed at him questioningly as Skulker gestured for him to go ahead.

"Ahem, as I was saying, as soon as the cage is powered by Ms. McLain's ectoplasmic energy from her guitar, the cage will absorb it. With that much continuous energy, it will allow the Fright Knight's sword to work its magic!" The Fright Knight, looking quite peeved, interjected.

"Magic is too weak a word for my sword's power. You should all cower before my blade's dark strength." He pulled out his gleaming sword with a dramatic flourish. Danny paled a little and shrank against the ground. Dani gave him a confused look.

Walker, looking a little exasperated, waved his hand.

"Whether it's magic or 'dark strength' I don't care. I've got an appointment teaching discipline to some of our more misbehaving prisoners later." A smile unfurled on his face at the thought. The rest of the ghosts, having been prisoners (Danny included) shuddered.

"Well, Fright Knight if you please," Technus gestured at the cage and made a slicing motion. The Fright Knight heaved a sigh, then took his sword and approached the cage. In a fast, smooth cut he sliced through the cage, going straight through it. As he did, his sword lost a bit of its sheen, and the swirling green energy turned black, flowing around the bars at a furious pace.

Technus laughed.

"It works! It works!" He declared. Everyone turned to the Phantoms.

Skulker smiled.

"Well child, you've faced all of us. I wonder," He got closer to Danny.

"Which one of us scares you the most?" Danny's eyes widened. In a split second, the sumo wrestler was off him, Skulker had him by the scruff of his neck, and he was being tossed at the cage. Dani screamed.

Danny landed against the bars, wincing a little, then paling when he realized what he was resting against. The black energy turned red under his grip, and soon the whole cage had red energy pulsing around it. Danny stumbled back, sweating a little, the cage having absorbed some of his energy.

The red energy spun around the cage, actually lifting up the cage and wrapped around it. Its form changed, a loud storm-like noise accompanying it, and the ghosts watched mesmerized. Danny stumbled back farther. While the other ghosts watched its transformation he pulled out the thermos from his pocket and sucked up Shadow, whose screeching protest was drowned out by the noise of the energy. Danny grabbed Dani and shouted over the noise.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Dani looked at him in shock and shook her head. He shook his own.

"GET OUT! GO!" He pushed towards where he had come. The Red form became a tall figure. Slowly Red eyes appeared. Pale green flames became its hair.

Dani shook her head again. Danny looked panicked.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT MY FEAR IS! DANI, GO BEFORE ITS TOO LATE! YOU THINK YOU'RE STRONG ENOUGH **BUT YOU'RE NOT!**" He shouted angrily the last part, half desperate. Dani stared at him, stunned and hurt. He realized what he had said. He shook his head and gestured for her to leave.

A black cape. Fangs and a forked tongue. Green skin. Skintight jumpsuit.

The ghosts stared at Danny's greatest fear, puzzled.

Dani stared at her brother in hurt, then turned and flew away. Danny sighed, and then was suddenly pinned against a tree. The thermos dropped from his hand, and rolled, landing in the grass, forgotten.

Danny looked at his other self in horror, while the ghosts watched curiously. A smile unfurled and red eyes flashed dangerously as he watched his other self squirm, releasing and then slamming him hard against the tree again, hard enough to nearly dislocate his shoulder. Danny's eyes rolled up into his head, then back as he regain consciousness, blood trickling from his head.

"Hello Danny." The deep voice said. Danny opened his mouth but no sound arose. He was frozen in terror.

Dan Phantom's smile merely grew larger.

**Geez I'm sorry you guys. For some reason I really struggled with this chapter. I knew exactly what was going to happen, but I really REALLY hate writing out explanations. It was really hard to make it flow and honestly, I have SO many ideas for this story, so many fun things to write, but I can't do it unless I get through THIS first, which was driving me nuts. However, fight scene next chapter, huge climax, and then I get to get to my version of the fun stuff. Yay! **

**I wrote down the Not strong enough part (you know, Danny's huge screaming rant) and I suddenly realized this sounded suspiciously plagiarized. I then proceeded to realize I had just written Nemo. So much for originality. :P **

**I think I have 5 oneshots for here's to the hero lying around somewhere, but I'm having trouble finishing them. They're pretty pointless one-shots, so I gotta figure out how to make it worth reading. Hmmmm…**

**School's starting soon. Maybe the whole Get-your-butt-in-gear homework routine will start up my brain processes again. No more watching Will & Grace and meaningless yet hilarious comedy shows until I nearly die from starvation and am forced to stop! Hope everybody enjoys their last bit of summer!!! Sorry for the super long Author Note!**

**Artgirl4!**


	15. Dani's Debut Part 5

**Dani's Debut Part 5**

Dani flew away, not really knowing where she was going. A few passing branches scraped her as she flicked in and out of intangibility. As she flew farther away, she kept hearing voices in her head. Images flashed as trees swam in and out of her vision.

_"Look, I'm merely concerned for your safety Dani. This whole plan we have going…it could really easily fall apart, that's all." _Green slash. Flowing ectoplasm. Danny's smile.

_**"You think you're strong enough but you're not." **_The dragon roaring in anger. Her hitting the wall.

___"I'm worried about you." _Ice encasing its mouth. Green slash.

_**"You think you're strong enough but you're not!" **_Danny's smile. His reassurances.

___"I don't want you to plunge headfirst into this." _Her back hitting the wall. Danny's smile, though his eyes said he was clearly in pain.

_**"You THINK you're strong enough, but you're NOT!" **_His anger. At her.

__"I know!" Dani shouted, gathering green energy in her palm. She blasted a tree, making a black, charred dent in it. She yelled in pure outrage. She madly started to pound at the tree, punching with every word.

"I. Know. I'm. Not. Strong. Enough. I. Know. I'm. Not. Needed. I. Know. I'm. Not. A. Hero." She thought back to the past battles. Had she done anything Danny couldn't have done without her help?

"Dani!" She realized she had reached the edge. The clouds and sun was shining on her again. She looked about for the voice. Valerie came flying, Tucker hanging for dear life on her board.

"Where's Danny?" Was the first thing out of her mouth, grabbing the girl by the shoulders.

"How should I know! He just yelled at me to get lost, so that's what I'm doing!" She spat. Tucker and Valerie looked at her in shock.

"W-what? Danny would never!" Valeria sputtered. Dani shook her head violently. Tucker groaned. Both girls turned to him.

"Danny wouldn't make you leave unless he was seriously worried. Dani, what happened in there?" He asked, gesturing at the woods. Dani was angered further. They still didn't understand!

"There was some kind of cage! Skulker asked Danny whether he was afraid of any of them or something." She looked away. Valeria clutched her ecto-gun tight.

"Dani, we need answers. Think harder." She demanded. Dani glared at her.

"Look Danielle, I don't know what happened in there, but you gotta understand, the only thing Danny wants is for you to be safe."

"I'm not some weak thing that needs protecting!" Dani burst out.

"But no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to **prove **it!" She bit her lip. Valerie and Tucker shared a look.

"Dani, you know Danny had problems in the beginning of all this. To be frank, he sucked at it." Dani looked up at Tucker curiously. Valerie nodded.

"I should know, I kicked his butt half of the time because of it." Dani found herself grinning despite herself.

"What's your point?" Valerie sighed. Tucker took over.

"Our point is, Danny wasn't always what you'd call a hero. He was just a half-ghost teenager who was trying to control his powers and failing miserably. Catching ghosts was just a way to practice using those powers. At one point he honestly didn't care if he destroyed anything as long as he got away scot-free." Tucker said, shrugging.

"He was a regular juvenile delinquent I'm sure." Dani said dryly.

Tucker grinned.

"Remind me to tell you of some of our earlier exploits later. Ahem," He coughed at Valerie's glare.

"Danny never felt the need to prove himself as the good guy until it was too late. He was Public Enemy Number One, and I'm pretty sure for a while he was scared that's all he would ever be. He didn't want you to have to go through the same thing, so he kept taking everything on, and, admittedly acting like the hero all the time.

He wasn't showing off Dani, he was trying to protect you. He wanted you to be ready to prove yourself. Maybe he went about it the wrong way." Tucker shrugged.

"'Cause I get now you get the feeling you **can't **prove yourself." Dani looked away.

"I don't need protecting." Tucker laughed, as did Valerie. Dani glared at them both.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Valerie asked, shaking her head.

"Dani, Danny doesn't protect you because you **need **protecting, he does it because he **wants **to protect you. You're his younger sister! For him, he's just fulfilling the role of the older brother." Valerie said, laughing. Dani stared at her, suddenly getting it. The whole reason Danny was always on her case…

Was because he was the older brother.

It was his job.

"He said…" She whispered. Valerie and Tucker stopped laughing.

"He said I wasn't strong enough… He even yelled at me to leave…" Tucker and Valerie immediately sombered.

"He was being serious. More serious than any of those other times." Dani suddenly realized, head jerking up.

"What were the ghosts doing? Think carefully Dani" Tucker asked seriously.

"They had a cage. Ember's guitar was powering it…Technus made some huge speech. And some dude on a big black horse appeared." Tucker paled.

"The Fright Knight?" Dani nodded.

"I think that was his name. He had a huge sword. And that's, that's when Skulker asked him what he feared the most!" Dani remembered. Tucker looked a pasty white.

"I think the Fright Knight did something to the cage…and then the energy started gathering up and turning into some blobby thing."

"Valerie." Tucker croaked. Both looked at him curiously.

"We have to go back and get the others." Valerie frowned.

"Why?"

"Because if what Dani said is true, Danny might be fighting his worst fear right now." Tucker swallowed thickly.

"And I've never known something worse than that fear." The girls exchanged worried glances.

--

"That-That's his fear?" Someone whispered. They all watched, grouped together as the boy quaked beneath the cruel smile of his evil counterpart.

"Kid's creative." Johnny murmured, then winced as he was elbowed by Kitty. Skulker raised an eyebrow, his gaze locked onto the symbol covering Dan Phantom's chest.

"His self in about 10 years time I suppose. But its incredibly realistic. I wonder what our little hero was thinking about when he made this monster." He said curiously. The others nodded.

Dan Phantom's head suddenly snapped towards the ghosts, who found themselves hopping a foot in the air despite themselves. A collective shiver went through them, which both shamed and worried them.

The evil(est) ghost grinned.

"Ahh, it's all our old enemies. How fun it will be to dispose of you all for a second time. Of course, I'll have to take care of the biggest piece of trash first." He threw Danny who slammed solidly into a tree. Red decorated the bark he had hit.

"Dude, the kid's **you! **You're gonna hurt **yourself?**" Johnny cackled, finding the situation entertaining.

Dan Phantom spared the ghost a grin.

"Not anymore he isn't." The shiver arose again.

"He's **not **you? Then who are you?" Spectra said, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Dan Phantom from top to bottom.

"His nightmare I suppose." Dan shrugged.

"Though it came true in a not-so-distant reality. He lost all those he cared about-"

"Including the goth girl?!" Dan, looking a bit ticked at being interrupted. The ghosts, too shocked that this being existed, even on a different plane, didn't notice.

"Yes, including Samantha. They all died, and the evil in his soul grew until I was produced. It was rather fun, actually." He said, smirking over at them. He gestured at his other half.

"And once I took care of that half, I lost the will to care. Destroying the human world was such fun, though not as fun as destroying **your **world as well." His eyes flashed with a vicious glee, and for some reason the ghosts couldn't find themselves denying his words. He approached them, and they froze in place, unable to move out of pure fear. It wrapped around them, suffocating them.

Dan smiled, raking his finger along Ember's throat, who seemed paralyzed.

"If I recall, your voice box was right here. It was fairly easy to rip. It. Out."

"Get away from her!" A green blast knocked Dan away from the ghosts, sending him flying back a few feet. Danny rose up, eyes filled with hatred.

The ghosts stared, transfixed and feeling an emotion from their humanity…fear.

And then it was only amplified, only got bigger because he confirmed the fear itself, shaking his head at Ember, horror reflected in his own eyes, a strangled whisper tearing itself from his throat:

"I'm sorry."

And then he was tackled to the ground.

--

_Get there in time, Get there in time, Get there in __**time!**_

--

Punches are being thrown, he can't recall how to make ectoblasts, his back is slammed into the ground, he kicks and claws and blood is getting in his eyes—

--

_Get there in time, Get there in time, get there in time!_

_--_

And the ghosts are staring, he catches glimpses of their faces. Pity? Anger? No laughter as he struggles except for the crackly wailing chuckle-that-is-not-a-chuckle, because he is laughing while he hurts.

--

_NO!_

--

BAM! And then the cackling stopped abruptly. Danny felt the weight that had been pushing at his chest leave, and he took in great gulps of air, wincing as a sharp pain blossomed in his chest. He swiped at his eyes, getting the blood off his face. It stained his silver glove, making a sparkly red. Suddenly he couldn't breathe again.

"Danny! Danny!" Someone was shaking him, and shaking herself. A small hand grasped his hand, and looked down at the girl-who-was-himself. His lungs opened again.

"Dani." He whispered, getting on his knees and wrapping his arms around her He realized he was trembling too. Danny felt her hazmat suit in his grip, the same kind he was wearing. She was here. She was real. She had gotten rid of the weight.

"**Dani." **He murmured again, squeezing her tighter.

Footsteps were approaching. Danny felt Dani stiffen, and froze himself as he heard the voice again.

"Now who is this?"

Dani looked down at Danny, whose eyes had gone blank again, except for that overwhelming fear and panic. The kind you saw in a hunted animal. She felt his grip slackening, and got up as Dan approached, standing up and standing in front of her brother. Like a protective shield.

Danny reached for his sister. His mouth opened and closed, trying to get the words to flow, to tell her to run again.

But Dani wasn't going to run anymore. Her eyes pulsed a strong green, in time with her beating heart. Green ectoplasmic energy swirled around her clenched fist.

"I believe I asked a question." Dan Phantom said, smirking, looking no worse for wear.

"Stay away from my brother." She said determinedly. Then she flew at him, ecto-blasts firing.

They made solid contact, and Dan went back again, a sour look crossing his face. He created red energy in his palm and fired at her, and she dodged, speeding up and dodging his grab for her. He caught her leg and threw her, but as she went back she threw more blasts.

Yet again they caught Dan in the chest, and his scowl became more pronounced. He flew at her and she ducked, his hand grazing her head, as she kicked upwards, catching him in the jaw. He let out a howl of outrage, a darklish purple bruise forming. Dani landed on the side of the clearing he had originally been on, confused.

This was the threat?

"Oh lookie here." Dan's voice carried. Dani's eyes widened as she realized her blunder, looking at Dan's hostage. Danny was held by the neck. Obviously terrified, he still fought, kicking and pulling at the hands that held him.

"Leave him alone." Dani grit out. Dan smiled, glad to be in control again.

"Why should I? His fear makes me strong." He inhaled deeply, looking refreshed as he brought Danny closer, who was trying to squirm away, eyes closed tight.

Dani froze, staring at his face. Something was wrong here… _"'His fear makes me strong.' Makes me strong…His fear. His __**fear!**__"_

Her head swung up with a sudden realization. She thought hard, trying to figure out how to get Danny out of Dan's grip as he taunted her coolly.

_"Come on Dani, you can do it!_" She concentrated. Dan watched her amusedly, absently tightening his chokehold. Danny gasped for air. Dani smirked suddenly.

"What's so funny, if I may ask?" Dan asked, nonchalantly. It didn't matter what she found amusing, she'd be dead soon anyway.

"I guess Jazz won the bet. Life or death experiences are always good for winning bets." She giggled for a second, thinking of the ironic kiss before Danny saved the world.

Dan stared at her with an eyebrow raised.

Dani smiled and waved, and then something burning hit his back and he fell, Danny getting slipped out of his grip.

"Come on!" Another Dani yelled from behind Dan, and Danny and her quickly flew over to the original Dani. The two high-fived, and then she sent her doppelganger to attack Dan. They started to fight.

"Danny, listen." Dani said urgently, grabbing her cousin. Danny turned to her, fear faintly showing in his eyes. He was trying to be strong for her.

"The big dude, Dan, he's not you!"

Danny shook his head. "That's what everyone says." He mumbled.

"No! Not I mean he's **really** not you! He isn't even **Dan Phantom!** He's just a fear of yours, created by the cage thingy!" Danny looked at her, bemused.

"He **feeds** off you fear. Before, when I was fighting him, he was weaker, but when he caught you again, he got stronger and the bruise on his face disappeared!" Indeed, the purple mark was gone from Dan's face. Danny's eyes dawned with understanding.

"But…I can't make myself unafraid of him Dani…you don't know what the real one's done…they look so alike." His voice faltered. Dani shook her head.

"I'm not asking you to. Do what Jazz taught us, you know, the breathing exercise. Just keep repeating 'He is not real. He does not exist.' Don't look at him. If you try to calm yourself down, maybe I can take him on." She winced, her double taking twisting her ankle.

Danny nodded, looking tired and serious.

"I'll try." She turned. "Dani, wait!" She turned back. He smiled softly.

"Thanks. And what about I said earlier, I didn't-"

"I know." She grinned. "I may not be all **that **strong…" She smirked.

"But I'm strong enough to take care of you when you need me, Danny." She grinned, then flew at Dan. Danny closed his eyes and concentrated, repeating the mantra over and over again.

"He is not real. He does not scare me. He does not exist. He is not real. He does not exist. He does not scare me."

Dani flew at the ghost, ramming him full in the stomach. Dan gasped, and growled, grabbing the girl and squeezing. Her double kicked at his head from behind, and he released her, roaring in rage. His palms glowed strongly, then suddenly decreased in size. He looked down, confused, then looked towards Danny.

Realizing what he was doing, he flew at the boy, but Dani blocked him, throwing ectoblasts. He phased through them, grunting, throwing smaller ones back at her. She went intangible, then threw more.

He caught them this time, unable to phase. He cursed, and Dani punch him. He caught her wrist, and shot her double away.

"Freeze!" Dan growled, but stopped as he saw Tucker, shaking, but holding a Fenton Weasel. Dani grinned, using her free hand to blast at Dan, who dropped her with a yell and gripped his face.

"Now Tucker!" She yelled. He flipped the switch to 'Suck' and turned the Weasel on. It grabbed Dan, who resisted. He glanced at Danny, and using a small ectoblast, shot at the boy. Danny looked up at the same time Dani caught the blast with a small shield.

"Don't stop!" She grunted. He faltered.

"We're hear for you Danny!" Danny looked up at Tucker, who was holding the Weasel, nodding at him. Valerie came forth too, grabbing Tucker around the middle to keep him steady. Dani gave him a strained smile. He nodded back and smiled determinedly. He whispered his mantra again.

"NO!" Dan shouted. He morphed, changing, turning into a spinning red globe of energy, then black as the Weasel started to suck it in. A storm-like roar was heard as it disappeared inside the vacuum. A cage hit the grass.

Everything quieted.

Dani dropped to the grass, relieved. Tucker turned the Weasel off, turning in Valerie's grip and kissing her out of excitement. She looked shocked, then relaxed. Dani smiled and tapped Danny on the shoulder, who looked worn out. She pointed towards the scene, and Danny chuckled, shaking his head. He ruffled her hair, and she scowled, then reached out and ruffled his, much to his amusement.

And then they started to laugh.

A ruffling noise alerted them to the ghosts, and they stood, Tucker and Valerie joining, staring back at the ghosts who stood staring back.

A noise behind them alerted them to the landing of a vehicle, but they didn't turn around. Sam, Jazz, Maddie and Jack ran out of the Specter Speeder and up to them, all armed. The whole of Team Phantom stood together, staring defiantly at the ghosts.

"Well?" Dani asked.

"Whatcha gonna do?" Danny asked. They stood together in the center, standing strong, arms crossed.

Skulker took a step forward, but was restrained by his girlfriend. He glanced down at her. Her face, paler than usual, was tight. She shook her head. He looked confused, but she shook her head again.

"Another day." She croaked. The other ghosts looked visibly shaken as well.

Skulker paused. Then he stared at Danny with a promise in his eyes.

"Another day child." And then the ghosts turned and disappeared.

Dani felt Danny put his arm around her shoulder, looking to be supportive but in actually leaning on her, shaking ever so slightly. She grinned up at him, and he grinned back.

"I get it now." She whispered.

"You tried to be the hero for me too, Danny." He opened his mouth to protest but she glared at him and he shut up. She continued.

"But what you didn't get is I'm am too. A hero. Except I'm supposed to be the hero for you as well." She smiled up at him, happy. He thought about it.

"Okay then Dani. Let's keep each other strong." He stuck out a hand and she shook it. The others, witnessing the scene, smiled as well.

Maddie gasped suddenly, catching the sight of red flecks in her son's hair. She and Jazz approached at the same time. Jazz let Maddie check him over, despite his protests, then grinned at all of them a little uncharacteristically.

"Well then!" She pointed at Dani's double, then turned to Tucker and Sam.

"I believe I won that bet. Pay up." She smirked, and Tucker groaned while Sam rolled her eyes. Dani winced.

"Actually about that…" Everyone turned to her.

"I made the double and everything but…how do I make it go back?"

They froze. Then they laughed.

--

THE NEXT DAY

Dani smiled as she made her way to her desk. Danny saluted at the class, still dropping her off despite the bandages peeking out from under his hair, all wrapped around his head several times, and the large one going straight across his forehead, another on his wrist, and dark blackish-purple bruises on his neck, indicated his near strangling.

The students tried not to stare, and Dani and Danny didn't blame them. They saw their hero saving the world and everyone in it, but he never stuck around long enough for them to see the consequences of those actions.

Dani herself had a bandage wrapped around her ankle, and a bandage going across her cheek, several bruises on her arms too.

After reassuring Ms. Sanderson both himself and Dani were being well-taken care of by the Fentons, he flew off, winking at his sister. Dani grinned, then couldn't resist yelling out,

"Get that girl to kiss it better!" She caught a glimpse of Danny's face flush red as he disappeared through the ceiling, knowing full well who she meant. And though several asked, she didn't tell them who.

Gabriella stared at her for a long time, though Dani didn't notice, even after class had started.

A news report had been done on them, after they had made their way out of the woods. Helicopters took pictures of the Specter Speeder, managing to get some shots of Maddie treated Danny's wounds as well as wrapping the bandage around Dani's ankle. It had given a whole new perspective on the situation, the reporters said, to see that the Phantoms were not as invincible as thought to be.

The day progressed, and Dani, Lily, Kevin, and Alex had hung out as per usual. At the end, in homeroom, Dani got a call Danny would be a little late.

Making her way down the empty hallway afterschool, she strained to hear the sounds of Kevin's guitar, having forgotten the location of the club. She sighed, walking aimlessly, until she heard the sounds of giggles.

"Even with the bandages, he still looked pretty hot!" Some more giggles sounded, and Dani sighed, rolling her eyes. More Phantom Phans. Whee.

She turned to leave the hallway when she heard a familiar voice.

"Well I gotta say, Dani is a lot like her older brother." Gabriella. Dani ducked around the bend as the footsteps got louder. She peeked and saw them standing at the water fountain. Gabriella took a drink then finished her thought.

"I mean, they have the same hair, the same eyes, as to be expected, I guess." The girls nodded, eager to listen to their leader.

"But then they have the same laugh, the same grin, even-" Her noise wrinkled in disgust.

"The same **jumpsuit**. That's just freaky." Dani froze as the girls kept walking. They came her way, but she couldn't move. She stared. As they walked past her, straight ahead instead of turning the corner and finding Dani, Gabriella uttered one last sentence,

"It's like she's his clone or something." As she said it, she glanced back out of the corner of her eye and smirked. The enthusiastic high-pitched laughter faded slowly away as they walked farther and farther away.

But Dani remained transfixed. She stared ahead, expression frozen on her face, eyes not seeing.

And halfway across town, an oblivious halfghost smiled happily as his girlfriend kissed his forehead, troubles long gone.

**FIN**

**I've realized it's been a year since I started this fic. There's nothing I can say to express how sorry I am, especially to those people who keep urging me to continue and tell me they enjoy reading it so much. Thank you guys! Go ahead and describe how much you want to torture me (painfully bludgeon me, etc.) go ahead, describe in detail. You deserve it. But as a guilty, selfish person, I'd appreciate reviews. I know, I'm horrible. Thanks for reading! The next episode will begin soon (check the episode list for a summary!) : ) Happy holidays! **

**Artgirl4**


	16. Sticky Spandex Part 1

**Sticky Spandex Part 1**

"_It's like she's his clone."_

Dani screamed, long and hard. She fought against her imprisonment, scared and trapped, something stretching across her. It wrapped around her hands and arms and legs, holding her down. She kicked out but caught nothing, only to be pulled back harder.

And then she hit the floor, in a jumble of sheets.

She sat up quickly, breathing hard. She looked across the room to see Danny up and fumbling with one hand behind his pillow.

"Whereda ghost?" He said urgently but sleepily, glancing around. He pulled out the Fenton Thermos and went ghost, casting an eerie glow upon the room as his transformation took place. Still half-awake, he sluggishly floated towards Dani on all fours.

Dani shook her head.

"None."

"None?" Danny asked, confused and yawning.

"None." Dani confirmed. Danny, still on all fours, did a flying about face and settled into bed gently. Face down on the pillow, he murmured a quiet "Wanna talk 'bout it?".

"No. Thanks Dan." He grunted, and started to snore, reverting back to his human phase with the smallest thought.

Dani climbed back onto the bed, pulling her sheets with her. They were same ones as Danny's, because they had been on sale. They were red and blue polka dotted.

Dani frowned, but settled them around her, also straightening her pajamas. Blue and white striped, with black buttons.

The same ones as Danny's. Maddie had thought they were cute, especially together.

Dani bit her lip, then transformed. She stared at her silver glove, then pulled at the black material, trying to get a better look at it. She grabbed her hair and brought it down in front of her eyes. It wasn't a shade darker or lighter than Danny's.

Dani almost growled.

Something had to be done.

--

"I don't know guys, she's been quiet ever since this morning! That's not normal for Dani!" Danny said, emphasizing his point by waving his arms around crazily. Sam sipped her vanilla shake, looking at her boyfriend skeptically. They sat in their regular booth in the Nasty Burger.

"And now she wants to go shopping! With my Mom! **Mom!**" Danny exclaimed. Sam sighed as he ranted, and tapped Tucker on the shoulder.

"-I mean, I know it's part of the natural inclination of girls, but Dani has her survival instincts! She never would go shopping willingly with my Mom-"

"Commence Plan Shut-Up-Halfa please." Sam whispered.

"-Not to mention she asked her first! Asked her! My **Mom!** She's gotta have some memories somewhere in there of the time Mom made me dress up as a girl, or-"

"On it." Tucker murmured back, smirking.

"-I would've understood if she asked Jazz, but no-oomph!" Sam let out a sigh of relief as Danny stopped talking, too busy gagging on the soy melt Tucker had shoved in his mouth.

Danny finally settled on swallowing the thing, glaring at Tucker as he did so.

"Danny, I understand you're worried about Dani, but maybe Dani really did want to shop with her Mom." Danny grumbled and sunk lower in the booth seat.

"Come on Man, you're freaking out over nothing. Dani went shopping. Girls do that. Its in their hormones." Both Sam and Danny looked at Tucker who shrugged.

"It's true." Sam shook her head.

"Let's just go back to FentonWorks, okay? I'm sure Dani is back from her trip and you can ask her all about it and confirm that there's nothing wrong, all right?" Danny pouted, but nodded, getting up. Sam threw out her shake and ignored the hand Danny offered, standing up too. Tucker snickered at Danny's dejected face, but booed when it lit up as Sam saddled up next to him and held his hand. They left the Nasty Burger and headed towards the light in the distance.

No literally, the glowing sign in the distance.

--

Dani stood and observed herself from all angles in the bathroom mirror. She pulled another outfit from the bag, and put it up to herself. No, she liked this one better.

"How is it Dani? I'd really like to see what you bought Hun." Maddie said through the door. Dani smiled.

"Hey Mom, where's Dani?" Smile froze.

"Hey Mrs. F."

"Hello Mrs. Fenton."

"Oh hello Sam, Tucker. Your sister's in the bathroom right now, trying on some clothes."

"Cool, how do they look?"

"Well I can't say I know. Dani went off and picked them out herself."

"…?"

"Okay, I'm ready!" Dani announced, opening the door. She stumbled out, then regained her footing, grinning confidently. Everyone else stared.

"…"

"What have you done with my sister?!" Danny flew at her, only to be tackled by Sam and Maddie.

"Danny, wait! Calm down!"

"Breathe for a second!"

Tucker stared at her, inhaling deeply.

"Holy-" "**Tucker!"**

He stopped, looking sheepish. Jazz walked in, carrying some snacks on a plate.

"Hey you guys, I heard Mom and Dani went-" She dropped the plate, which luckily did not shatter. She stared at her younger sister. Danny was still grappling with Maddie and Sam, though losing, shouting all manner of things at what he called the "Dani-Imposter".

And he had full rights to. Dani had put a wig over her hair, which was long and electric blue. She had put in blue contacts and put on blue lipstick. She wore a long hoody t-shirt that was black. It went past her waist and she wore blue leggings underneath, and then calf-high boots with a short heel.

She looked…different.

"Dani-what-how-" Jazz sputtered, for once lost for words. Tucker snapped a few photos, and Jazz smacked him, unable to get anything out. Danny finally composed himself, and he got up, Sam and Maddie as well, looking at her strangely.

Dani twirled.

"Well?" She smirked.

"Are you wearing make-up?" Jazz asked, surprised. Danny twitched.

"No way! I mean, no, you can't, you shouldn't, don't," Danny protested, fumbling with his words.

"No make-up!" He finally proclaimed. Dani scowled.

"You're not the boss of me!" She said, sticking out her tongue. Danny glared at her, and she ignored him.

"Hey, I'm just breaking the mold, okay? I just think it's time to change my image, go for something new. I would think you guys could be supportive for me." Her eyes narrowed as she spoke. They all exchanged a glance. Danny was still fuming.

"I don't like it. It's not you Dani." He said unhappily.

"Well maybe I don't wanna be me!" Dani shouted suddenly. She stomped over to the door.

"At least I didn't let my Mom put me in frilly dresses like **someone** not too long ago!" Danny blushed, looking away from Tucker and Sam's amused looks. Jazz bit her lip, trying to contain her laughter. Dani slammed the door shut. Maddie looked dismayed. Then she turned to her son, looking menacing.

"Daniel James Fenton, what did you say to her?!" Danny looked at her, eyes wide.

"I didn't say anything! Ask Jazz, she's the one going on all those psychological rampages!" Jazz gasped in indignation.

"First of all they're psycho-analyzation **lectures** and secondly, I didn't do **anything **to Dani! She's just being as rebellious as you are!" All three Fentons stood, eying each other, until Sam coughed.

"While you guys were busy fighting, Dani went, probably to your apartment. I suggest one of you go and talk to her. Good-bye Mrs. Fenton, come on Tucker." She dragged him out of the room, and Jazz sighed.

"I'll go first."

--

Deep in the forest outside of Amity Park, a cage stood, a few leaves scattered against its iron bars. Off to the side of it lay a slightly burnt silver thermos. Something flew through the trees suddenly, making a wind fly by. The thermos rolled a little closer to the cage. The fallen leaves settled to the ground. The something returned to the area after a moment, landing on the ground gently. It was a wolf. It stared at the cage for a long moment and then howled.

It waited a minute, then blinked and cocked its head. It howled again¸ longer and louder only to get conked on the head, letting loose a yelp and backing away from the red high-heeled shoe, whimpering.

"Geez, I heard you! For ghostly sake, keep it down Bertrand! And get your tail out between your legs!" Spectra snapped, drawing forward from the woods. She picked up her high-heeled shoe and took off the other one, massaging her feet.

"But you said to send a signal." Bertrand whined.

"Yes, but not one that hurt my bloody ears! Plus I had to walk part way to conserve energy! Do you know how hard that is on the feet?!" She put the shoes back on and walked forward, ignoring her frightened assistant, until she stood in front of the cage. She smiled happily.

"Ah, finally found it."

"Technically I found it,"

"BE SILENT! Ah, where was I? With this cage I can switch the energies. Instead of sucking ectoplasm, I can get it to suck human energy for my harvest!" She cackled merrily, reaching out a hand.

"Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Bertrand's warning went unheeded as Spectra shrieked, her hands getting wrinkled and ugly under the power of the cage. It sucked her youth-converted-into-ectoplasmic-energy from her, cage turning green, and she yelled out. Bertrand quickly grabbed her by the collar with his teeth and tugged. Together they fell away. Spectra was gone and flying away from the forest before Bertrand could even get his bearings. Then he too was gone.

The thermos on the ground rolled down the slight slope into the ectoplasmic cage, and started to glow. Something screamed high-pitched, and the cage's energy turned a reddish-black, swirling and morphing around the glowing thermos, changing its form. The cage disappeared into the energy, and the thermos exploded, changing into more energy. The scream got even higher and nastier, and full of pain.

And then everything was silent.

Hands dropped against the grass. Someone panted, chest heaving. The hands scrambled against the grass, then paused. One drew up, up, until level with the stunned face. Red eyes, now with pupils and irises, blinked, as the hand was turned, back and forth.

"No way…" The figure murmured, then gasped. He let loose a shriek, completely unearthly and painful to hear, then cleared his throat. He stared at his strong, rough and callused hands. He flexed muscles, and looked down at his legs.

"I'm…a human?"


	17. Sticky Spandex Part 2

**Sticky Spandex Part 2**

Jazz grumbled, rubbing her head. Danny had been eager to get out of there, and in his haste he had quickly dumped his sister on his bed then flown. She cursed the lack of key to the apartment, then made her way off the bed. She looked around cautiously¸ then called out.

"Dani?" No answer.

"Dani, come on, I know you're in here!" She felt a wave of déjà vu as she put her hands on her hips. This was exhaustingly familiar…

"No you don't. You're just saying that to get me to come out." Came a matter-of-fact voice. Jazz remembered faintly all the times she had barged into her brother's room when he was having a temper tantrum.

"Well now I do! And I'm not going to leave-"

"-Until I come out, right? Invisibility, duh!" Jazz sighed, sitting on Danny's bed. Of course, those fights with Danny had mostly been before ghost powers all together. More recent ones had been when he thought she didn't know so he couldn't use them.

"Fine. But can't I at least help my little sister do her make-up?" There was a long silence, and Jazz worried Dani had flown away.

"You'd help me?" Jazz sighed in relief softly.

"What kind of older sister would I be if I didn't teach my younger one how to properly use mascara?" Dani appeared then, sitting next to her, and she prided herself in not jumping. Jazz grinned as Dani handed over the bag, and started,

"Well the first thing you want to do is make sure your face is washed and moisturized…"

--

He walked through the streets, ignorant to all the stares. He could **walk**. No longer did he blend in with the streets, merely a mimic of the action. He walked, he strutted, he ran. His new body fit him, and an occasional female would ask him his name and number, giggling in some sort of short-circuited kind of way.

A number was obviously some sort of identification. Johnny had talked about it often, saying it was a way to 'pick up girls'. He simply had to ask them for it, and obviously it worked vice versa. But he didn't have a name nor number, and he didn't want to carry a woman anywhere. He was too busy relishing in the feel of his new body. He politely declined and walked away. His voice hurt from when he had screeched from the shock of his transformation, so he didn't want to use it often.

He was walking down a road, trying to look low enough to glance at his shirt. His chin bumped against his chest, which annoyed him. Usually his body was one large mass, but now he wanted to see it. However, he found it rather hard to maneuver.

He seemed to be wearing a black shirt, but the explosion with the thermos had splattered green streaks across it, which soaked into the fabric like a dye. Black pants, leather ones like Johnny occasionally wore, adorned him also, but they had numerous pockets with numerous chains. What use, he wondered, did he have for so many pockets? Let alone the chains, which were obviously too small to hold anything back.

He had stopped at a nearby store to examine his face—chiseled features, hair that looked as if swept to the side, and frozen in time, halfway down his neck with spikes going out and down, and red eyes and a stubbly chin—when he saw a familiar sight. A boy balanced a precarious ice cream cone in one hand, trying to wrap his other arm around an elusive Latina. He seemed to be half-arguing with her, half-balancing the ice cream. It was a delicious situation, and the man felt the pull towards it. He did not see his eyes flash full red in the mirror. He walked down towards the two.

"Dash I am not going to go out with you! I have to remain single for the day Phantom arrives to take me into his arms!"

"Come on Paulina, he hangs out with geeks! You shouldn't have to wait for him, he's not worth it!"

"Oiy! You say that but he's still your hero, right _chico_? It doesn't matter who he hangs out with, he'll always be mine!"

"Paul-" "_Splat!"_ The blonde boy growled, looking at his fallen ice cream. He glared at the arm of the man who'd knocked it over.

"Dude, you're gonna pay for that." He scowled at the guy then faltered as he caught sight of him. The Latina, Paulina, gasped at his side.

"Hot…" She whispered, gawking at him. The man blinked and looked down at the ice cream. She was hot, so the ice cream must've been to resolve that. In fact, a red flush was definitely settling along her cheeks. What had he been thinking?

"Sorry." He murmured, and her eyelashes fluttered at him. He walked past them a little bit to the ice cream cart, now unoccupied, and held his hand out of their view. Black tendrils arose from it and pulled at the cone on the rack, more of them gathering up ice cream into perfect round scoops and placing it inside. The tendrils then deposited the concoction within his hand. He walked back briskly and handed it to her. She eyed the ice cream and slowly took it, hand shaking. And then he walked on, figuring he had made up for his misdeed.

"Ohmygod! Who was **that?!"** He heard a shriek behind him, but he didn't come back to tell her his name. The first few women had glanced at him strangely when he had told them. He would just have to find something more suitable. He supposed his real name was too much of a reminder of the past anyway. He was going to be better from now on.

--

"Kitty! Kitty! Geez, babe, where are you?!" Johnny shook his head, kicking his foot against a stone. First his motorcycle, now this! He cursed.

"Babe, come on, I said I was sorry didn't I? It was a mistake!"

"Go away Johnny! You obviously don't want to be around me, and I don't want to be around you, so go!" The pouty voice of his girlfriend reached him. He glanced around at the rocky landscape, but was unable to spot her.

"It was an accident, I promise! Why would I make my motorcycle disappear while I was on it?! I hit the dirt too!" He yelled, shaking earth from his baggy trousers as if to emphasize it. There was a pause on Kitty's end.

"But your motorcycle never disappears like that. It's a part of you, ain't it?" Kitty said, sniffling. Johnny spat on the ground.

"I don't know why. But I can't call it back, so we're just going to see if we can take Shadow." Kitty made a gagging noise.

"Shadow Travel? Oh, gross, you know that makes me feel all icky afterwards!" Johnny grit his teeth. Sometimes it took a bit of effort to remember he loved her.

"Well that's how we hafta get home now, so I guess you're gonna have to deal with it Kitty! Now come on or I'm leaving withoutcha!" He snapped. There was a scrambling noise, and Kitty appeared, walking towards him with as much dignity as possible, still getting dirt of off her arms.

She crossed her arms as she reached him and grunted, showing she was not pleased. He rolled his eyes and put an arm around her waist, whistling for Shadow. She shut her eyes tight and grimaced.

…

Johnny stomped the ground without looking down and whistled.

…

Kitty cracked open her eyes.

"Johnny," She started to whine.

"Not now Babe." Johnny said impatiently, stomping the ground harder.

"Shadow! Go!" He called out. Nothing happened.

"But, Johnny," Kitty began.

"I said **not now** Kitty." Johnny said, fists clenched. He concentrated, then barked out for Shadow.

"Johnny, will you listen to me?!"

"What?!" Johnny asked, head turning to her. Kitty rolled her eyes.

"It took you long enough." She pointed downwards.

"Shadow isn't even here." Johnny looked down. Indeed, no black form stretched along the ground.

"What the…?" Johnny yelled out for Shadow. But, he realized, he couldn't sense his companion anywhere.

Shadow was gone.

--

Danny arrived at the apartment with a package of Dani's favorite cookies, a Dumpty Humpty CD, and a bundle of nerves growing inside his stomach. Despite his sister's reassurances, he was scared as to what he might find inside. He opened the door to Dani's room wearily, and walked inside, offerings held out in front of him as a shield.

"Danny, what are you going here?"

"AHH DON'T BLAST ME!" Danny yelled, cookies and CD covering his head as he crouched. He heard Jazz laugh.

"Don't worry Danny, it's okay. Dani, why don't you show your brother your new look?" Danny gulped, and slowly unwound. He looked up….and stared at his sister.

Dani wore a black miniskirt and a white t-shirt tucked in. She wore flat black shoes with bows on them, and Jazz had even put a silver heart shaped hair pin in her hair. Dani looked a little uncomfortable in it, but she smiled cautiously.

"What do you think?" Danny tried to find the words and failed. Dani slowly started to frown. Jazz, seeing this, hastened to say,

"He's speechless." Dani shook her head.

"No, I want to hear it from you. Danny, what do you think?" Danny closed his mouth. He sighed. Dani got angry.

"Danielle, it's just not-"

"Me. I get it. Because the only me is the one you think is me." She started to rant.

"Because the only me is the one you want to see, because-"

"Dani! Come on, I don't want to start a fight." Danny held out the stuff.

"Look I brought your favorites," It had the opposite effect. He watched as she took one look at the cookies and music and bit her lip, eyes shining angrily.

"My favorites?! Or **yours?!" **He blinked. Well, yeah. They both liked the same stuff, but-

BAM! Dani slammed the door shut, stranding Danny outside their room. Jazz shook her head, walking up to him and patted him on the shoulder.

"I thought she looked alright. Obviously she wants a change Danny, and I think you're gonna have to let her go for it. Lucky for you I already talked her out of hair dye." Jazz said, smiling slightly. Danny offered her a small, weak one in return. She patted him on the shoulder again and then left using the door. Danny walked over to the small sofa and fell on it, sighing forlornly. He nibbled on a cookie and promptly fell asleep.

--

Someone poured water on his face. He woke up gasping and someone giggled. He blinked at Dani's own face, smiling sweetly from above him.

"Time to get up Dan-Dan." She said, and then she moved away. Danny got up groggily and noticed he was still on the couch. However, a blanket was tucked around him. He smiled at Dani gratefully, who smiled secretively back.

"Did you know you change into ghost form really easily when you sleep? All I had to do was say, "'Danny, there's a ghost, go ghost mode!'" And you transformed!" Danny looked at her, confused, and she smirked, continuing.

"Well, actually, it was really the mention of a certain goth's name that got you going." She winked at him, and he blushed, then glanced down. He was indeed in ghost form, while she was in her pajamas. When he looked up again, she was gone, into the bathroom. Danny walked into their room, yawning, and laid out his clothes. Dani got out of the bathroom, and he grinned, hopeful. She was wearing a Sam-made t-shirt and jeans.

This day it said "Careful, I know Jujitsu." on the front. On the back it read. "Oops, I lied." Danny smiled at her and went into the bathroom, taking a short shower, washing his hair and soothing his aching I-slept-on-a-couch-all-night muscles. He wrapped a towel around his hair and waist, brushed his teeth, put on some deodorant, and walked out to a ready Dani. She seemed perfectly fine, and he wondered if she had dropped this sudden phase she had been going through. He was too much of a coward to bring it up.

She gave him an extra big grin, as if to reassure him, and left to give him some privacy. He slipped on his clothes, still feeling slightly weird wearing those kinds of things in ghost mode. He left the towels on a chair to dry a little. They left for school together, phasing out and appearing in a nearby alley. They walked out onto the street.

As they walked, Danny realized they were getting more glances than usual. Some mother shook her head at him, another covered her son's eyes. Danny wondered in growing panic if he was glowing or something, anything to reveal his identity.

"Dani, am I-"

"Nope." Dani cut him off. She seemed deliriously happy, he noted, but that shouldn't mean she was able to read minds. Unless—!

"Dani, can you-?!"

"Nope." Dani answered again, cheerily. Danny glanced at her, bemused.

Suddenly a tall lean guy walked over. He had a spiky Mohawk that was dyed a bright red, and several piercings in his nose, along with dark clothing. Danny gulped. Dani waved.

He came right up next to Danny and stared into his sunglass-covered eyes. Danny shut his tight. A pale hand landed on his shoulder. Then it landed repeatedly. Danny opened his eyes in shock. Was this guy…patting him?!

"Way to go dude." The guy nodded at him and his sister, who raised a hand in a high five. Danny watched in shock as he returned it. He turned back to him and grinned creepily.

"Fight the man!" He then turned, went somber again, and walked away. Danny stared after him.

"Dani-what" He sputtered, but Dani was already walking down the street. Danny jogged to catch up with her.

They walked on in silence, Danny deciding to just forget about it. They soon arrived at the school, which still had the occasional reporter milling about. Danny saw some reporters eying him strangely, and he gulped.

"C-Come on Sis, you're gonna be late! Geez, I need to get to school! I can't believe Mom didn't wake us up!" He whined to Dani, and he saw the reporter shake his head in his direction and turn away. He sighed in relief. They made it into the building safely.

--

"Alright everyone, settle down. Time for the countdown." Everyone rushed into their desks, staring intently at the clock. Ms. Sanderson checked her own watch, and then began.

"!0…9…8…"

Everyone joined in, staring at the door. Of course, the Phantoms weren't always perfectly punctual, but it was quite funny to still count down to them arriving. A few times they had got it spot on.

"5…4….3…."

"Ouch! Dani, again with the pushing?!" Someone stumbled in, and everyone looked at the guy in shock. Dani walked in casually, already pulling off her cap, sunglasses in hand.

"Good morning!" Even Ms. Sanderson was speechless. Some people murmured a half-hearted good morning, but they mostly just gawked at Danny, who was pulling off his own cap that had done nothing to hide the little tufts of hair peeking out.

The **blue **and **red** and **green** tufts.

Danny glared at his sister, and then turned to the class, blinking at their expressions. They blinked back, parallel to the 'first day of school' situation all that while ago.

Danny moved his hand slowly up towards his forehead, fingering the few bandages that were still there from that big battle with the Fake Dan. Why would they be staring now…?

"Erm, Danny, I don't suppose you…" Ms. Sanderson started making gestures with her hands, stuttering through her words and ultimately trailing off.

Danny cocked his head at her, and she groaned suddenly, facepalming.

"What in the world?" She asked in a completely different tone. Danny looked at the only other person he thought could help him understand. Lily.

Lily met his puppy eyes and almost groaned herself. What was going on?! Danny obviously didn't know what was going on, which would have to mean…

"Dani!" She yelled out suddenly, narrowing her eyes on her best friend. Dani waved and she glared harder. Danny whipped towards Dani, confused.

"Huh?"

"Huh?" Was echoed by the class, and even Ms. Sanderson, all looking at Lily for guidance.

"Daniiiii," Lily growled. Dani smiled innocently at her.

"Did you do that?" She pointed at her best friend's older brother's hair. He touched the bandages again and she shook her head.

"Try farther up." She suggested and he did. He grabbed at his hair, but felt nothing on it, then automatically pulled it to eye level. Eyes widened, and Lily, the teacher, Dani, and several other smart ones put their hands over their ears.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

--

The man stared at the school. This was where the boy was? This was in fact a school for younger humans, correct? He stared at the building some more until he noticed somebody trying to get his attention. Somebody snapped their fingers in front of his face and he turned to them, startled.

"Finally! Geez man, what's wrong with you?" A man with a camera on his shoulders asked. The man didn't know how to reply, so he shrugged. The cameraman rolled his eyes.

"Must not be one of them smart types." He said, as if the man couldn't hear him.

"Listen, buddy, I need you to hold this for me for a bit. Can you do that?" He said every word slowly, and gestured to his camera. The man blinked at him. Why was he to hold this human's camera? He had no need for it.

The cameraman repeated the question even slower, until the man finally nodded. He handed the camera over to him.

"Now, be careful how you hold it…" The man's eyes flashed red, and his smiled turned cruel. The camera slipped through his hands.

Crash!

Splinters of glass lay all over the sidewalk. The camera guy gasped and yelled. The man blinked and apologized. How could he have done something like that? The camera was obviously important to this man.

"Buddy, you got a lot of nerve! Do you know how much that cost?!" Suddenly he realized he didn't care. No, this human was the one with a lot of nerve. And now, he was going to cut that nerve down.

--

"Danielle." Danny said brokenly, almost as if he were a kicked puppy. Dani rolled her eyes, watching the boy pull up bits of his hair and gaze in a mirror, expression distressed.

"Really Dani, what pushed you to do this?" Ms. Sanderson asked, not scolding, but more curiously. She held up the mirror as Danny gazed into it, occasionally letting out a small whimper.

It looked like he was a clown. His hair had been dyed a dark red, green, and blue, random bits like a child's finger painting. A few pieces of hair remained white, but the rest was a messy catastrophe.

More so than usual.

Danny let loose a moan of despair. Then he whirled around, pointing an accusing finger at his sister.

"**You! **This is all **your** fault!"

Dani actually smiled. "Well **duh."** Danny blinked, then his eyes narrowed.

"Haven't you ever heard not to disrespect your elders?!" He scolded. Dani rolled her eyes.

"Oh, sorry **Dad.** Though I guess it's fine for me to call you that, considering we share the same genes and everything." Her tone was close to growling. Danny blinked.

"Dani, **what** are you-" He stopped mid-sentence as puff of blue smoke exited his mouth. He hesitated, seeing Dani glaring at him.

"We..We'll talk about this later." He shook his head and flew out of the building invisibly and intangibly. Dani scowled, her eyes saying what her mouth had not.

Coward.


	18. Sticky Spandex Part 3

**Sticky Spandex Part 3**

"Yeah Mr. Lancer, it's just one of-WHOA!" Danny ducked under a slimy tentacle, managing to catch his phone before it hit the ground.

"Huh? Oh, oh right! It's just one of those days! Ack!" He narrowly avoided two coming from either direction.

"What? No, no I can come-Ah!-to pick up the homework later. I'll drop by before school ends, I promise! UGAH!" One of those tentacles finally caught him, and he was waved back and forth.

"No! I'll! Be! Fine! Thanks! Bye!" He hung up, turning more green than the stuff in his hair as he was swung to and fro.

The monster of a ghost brought him to eye level, apparently nearsighted. He squinted, then sucked in his gelatin mass and let loose. Goop flew into Danny's hair and face, and he closed his eyes at the onslaught.

"Oh, dude, gross!" He said, then winced as the ghost gasped again. However when the ghost kept gasping, he opened one eye, then the other. The ghost's eyes seemed to be gleeful, and Danny suddenly realized what he was doing.

He was **laughing.**

Danny gawked in disbelief, then remembered his hair, and a flush rose on his face to match his hair.

"Great. First Dani, now I'm even being ridiculed by a ghost whose body is the equivalent of gelatin." He groaned, and the ghost seemed to realize he was being made fun of. Danny was flung down yelling into the ground, where he shielded himself, bouncing off the gravel only to still land on it face down, hazmat protecting is skin from getting scraped.

He let loose another groan, pawing for his thermos in his pocket, just as the news vans pulled up. Everyone piled out, coming face to face with one stunned half ghost still lying on the road.

One half ghost with clown hair.

A million cameras were flashing in his face, everyone was blinking rapidly in shock, and then something slimy wrapped around his ankle and he froze.

And for the third time since the beginning of this battle, he let loose another groan-

-Which was cut short as he was catapulted into the air, the ghost still chuckling mini-earthquakes, and the reporters, despite their best efforts, joining in.

"Dani, seriously, you're creeping me out." Lily said, poking her with a straw. Dani continued to hum, munching her sandwich vigorously. Lily shuddered and deliberately scooted away from her.

Alex smiled. "Hey, leave her alone Lil. She's obviously happy about something, why not let her be?" He ruffled Dani's hair, who smiled and barked like a small puppy. It hadn't taken long for them to adopt a carefree attitude with each other that greatly resembled that of an older brother and younger sister.

"Geez, yes, let's all be a bunch of smiling idiots, shall we?" Alex stuck his tongue out at Lily, and she rolled her eyes.

"No, really, please direct me to the nearest field of daisies so that we may frolic together." Lily grabbed Dani and pulled her over, hugging her head.

"I promise, I'll protect you from him and his oblivious optimism, I swear it." Dani giggled, and Alex glared at Lily who also smiled. Then the table erupted into laughter.

"Oh, hey there's Kevin! KeKevin! Over here!" Dani waved frantically, and the boy, like usual, did the check to make sure she wasn't talking to someone other than him. Despite their constant invitations for him to sit with them at their lunch table, he would not come unless invited.

Lily and Alex smiled and beckoned him over. After another glance about, he approached.

"Hey, Dani. What's up?" Lily snorted, and grabbed his wrist.

"Just sit down Dude." She said bluntly, pulling him down to sit. Kevin blushed, partially out of embarrassment and partially because of female contact.

Dani flashed him a dazzling smile that left him disoriented for a moment, herself oblivious to his apparent blindness as she continued to snack.

"You, um, seem happy." Kevin mumbled, unpacking his own bacon cheeseburger. Earlier on they had realized that despite his lankiness, Kevin ate enough to feed a small village. The real question was where he put it all.

"That's because I am!" Dani chirped. Lily glared at her.

"I still really don't approve, you know that right?" Dani nodded, smile never faltering.

"Yep!" She responded. Lily's eyes narrowed.

"But you know as a third-party I'm not going to get involved because I don't care, right?" Dani nodded again, and Lily shrugged.

"Okay then, as long as that's clear. Don't ask." She told Alex, who had been opening his mouth curiously. He close it with an upset grunt, folding his arms and leaning back.

"Psst! Dani!" Everyone at the table jumped as someone whispered. Lily clutched her heart, startled but immediately getting it, while Alex swung his head back and forth, looking for the mysterious voice and gaining a few weird looks in the process. Kevin also froze, terrified and maybe just a little damp, if you know what I mean.

"What?" Dani asked, having regained her composure. She twirled a fork through her salad, and kept her head carefully inclined. Despite the attention their table was receiving as a result of Alex's antics, no one noticed anything else off.

"Who's-" Alex groaned as Lily jabbed him in the stomach, bending down and placing his cheek against the table.

"What did you replace your elbows with, harpoons?" He mumbled. Lily gave him a wry grin, then nodded her head at Dani.

"We have a visitor that wishes to remain anonymous, in case you haven't noticed." Alex gave her a look that clearly stated he hadn't. He too, looked at Dani, who in turn, though keeping her head down, was glancing upwards. He snapped his fingers and opened his mouth to exclaim his understanding, but Lily's elbows beat him to the punch.

"Owwww…" He groaned again.

"Translate my previous sentence to: Shut up!" She hissed. He merely moaned in response.

Dani nodded subtly, getting their attention. Then she resumed actually eating her lunch, not looking upwards again. However, a small smirk adorned her face, and Lily groaned.

"What did you do?" Dani gave her the puppy look.

"Dani…that bad?" Dani shrugged.

"I don't know if you would call it **bad**. Danny wanted to know where he could go to get some privacy, 'cause he…uh, because he doesn't want to go out in public with his clown hair, so I told him a room where he could stay for a bit." There were holes in her story, and she knew it, Lily knew it, and they both knew each other knew it. But Lily didn't protest, instead catching on one of the more important details…

"Which room is that, exactly…?"

Danny sighed, making his way around the building. He tried to remember Dani's whispered instructions. Despite his years here, there were still a few hallways he had trouble finding his way around.

As he wandered, his mind also went to other things. For instance, his sister's strange behavior towards him. That girl was undeniably getting to him. How in the world had she dyed his hair without him noticing? He wasn't that deep a sleeper! At least, he didn't think he was…

Groaning, he looked to the door number, mentally coming to an end of the directions he had been given. 179. This was it. He pulled at the door handle first, and to his surprise it opened. He checked up and down the hall, then landed on the floor and flickered into visibility. He slowly slipped inside the room, the door gently closing behind him. He walked inside without flickering on any lights.

Danny looked around, surprised at the lack of desks and chairs in the room. In fact, there seemed to be a few small couches instead. He smiled happily. His sister may have been going through a rough patch, but he knew somewhere deep down in there was a person he could count on. She was still his sister after all.

With that comforting thought, Danny slipped his head comfortably onto the couch, and spread his legs down, easing himself into a well-deserved nap. He never thought to glance at the door that had closed behind him, but if he had, then maybe he might've noticed his own enlarged face staring back at him.

But he didn't.

The man stood, watching the boy. Well, he wasn't young, but he wasn't old either. He was, however, in a sort of hibernation. He had never had to hibernate, but he supposed it was necessary, now that he was separated from his master…

His head hurt.

He had found the girl, but something had pushed him past. Don't go after her, it said, look for the male, look for the male! It had hurt his head further to consider disobeying, but he wasn't out to harm anything. Certainly not this boy. Certainly not that girl.

His head still hurt.

His hand was reaching forward towards the boy, his dark suit and lack of light making the man feel dizzy and light-headed. He hated the dark now. What was once his home only served to remind him of a prison.

The room spun, but the boy stayed in focus, hibernating while the man's hand continued to move towards him, unaware of how much pain the man was in.

Go! The shrieking in his head urged. Go! Make him feel pain and the worst luck! Strangle him and let your darkness feed on his misery! Go! His head exploded with sharp aches and he stumbled back, clutching it, the boy forgotten.

Footsteps and giggles sounded near the door, and his head shot up, pain momentarily gone. Run! All of his senses screamed in unison, and he disappeared just as the door opened, light shedding into the room. The giggles and footsteps sharply ceased, and then returned full throttle, only to be shushed again.

And nothing disturbed the peaceful hero, slumbering on the couch.

Dani giggled to herself, swinging her legs back and forth in her chair. Lily stared at her, putting the last of the books in her bag and zipping it closed. Their homeroom had just been dismissed, but people were lagging, obviously in hopes of seeing crazy-haired Phantom once more.

They didn't see, but they clearly heard.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Dani smirked while the rest of the class jumped as Danny phased through the door in a leap, tumbling and banging into a majority of the desks, landing in an undignified heap with colorful hair.

The door banged open, and their attention switched to the doorway. A group of girls stood panting, eyes sorely fixed on the male Phantom.

They took a step forward, and Danny let out an unmanly whimper.

"Girls!" Snapped a sharp voice, and the girls stopped mid-stampede, pulling back guiltily. Danny let out a breath of relief, and squeaked again when their eyes fixed on his mouth. He scooted back and banged his head on the metal desk leg.

"What in the world are you doing to poor Danny here?" Ms. Sanderson asked strictly, gesturing to Lily who helped him up. He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes. Alex, who had already come in, stiffened.

"Remove your hands Non-believer! You do not have the right to touch the Savior!" Sarah, the President of Phantom Pherocity shouted, the other girls nodding behind her. Lily raised an eyebrow and promptly released him. He stumbled and glared at her, but she shrugged.

"That girl can worm her way into my bank accounts if I'm not careful." She said, pointing to Julie, the Treasurer. Julie smiled secretively, pushing her glasses up so they glinted and hid her eyes.

"Hello Danny, so nice to see your…assets." Danny felt a shiver go up his spine. Micky, the VP, waved her hand frantically.

"Heeey Dan! I lurv what you've done to your hair! It's so…creative! Just brings out the green in your eyes, y'know? I rather enjoy guys with creativity." She grinned, and the shiver increased double-fold.

"Girls!" Ms. Sanderson snapped again, and they stood at attention, looking at her guiltily.

"But Ms. S, he was the one in our room! We were sure it was an offering from up above!" Sarah proclaimed, hands clasped. Lily turned to Dani with accusing eyes, she looked away. Danny turned at her at the same exact moment. The next thing anyone knew, both Phantoms were on the floor tussling.

"It's your fault!"

"Shut up!"

"Why did you do that?"

"None of your business?"

"What do you mean none of my business, WHAT HAPPENS TO ME **IS** MY BUSINESS!"

The two rolled around on the floor, pulling and scraping at each other, green eyes flashing. The door slammed open for the second time, but it did nothing to halt the Phantoms. However, one hand reaching out and tugging at Danny and Dani's hair did the trick, pulling them both apart like magic.

"Owwww.." They both whimpered at the same time. Dani's head shot up and glared at her brother, who in turn glared at her.

"What the heck are you two doing?" Sam said, hands on her hips. Jazz looked equally as menacing, and Tucker pouted, still holding his PDA up.

"Guys, they were making a memory here! I could've gotten millions for that vid!" He drew back when both females shot him glares of doom.

All of the kids looked at the older teens with a bit of awe, something none of the group really paid any attention to.

"Danny! Explain!" Danny opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced with a glare from his leading lady.

"Now." He pouted, and pointed at his head. Sam took it in, eyes only widening a fraction. Everyone else stared at her completely control over the ghost boy. Jazz, on the other hand, gasped and rushed forward.

"Your hair! Oh please no, not your hair! Sam! Tell me this is reversible!" She pleaded. Sam stepped forward and grasped gently at his roots. She then grinned.

"No worries, it's washable. Come on, I have the stuff needed to rinse it out. Tucker, come with me, you know how screamish he gets around cold water, Jazz, you take care of the hard part."

"What hard part?" Jazz asked, then glanced at her little sister, whose anger was rolling off her in practically visible waves.

"Oh. Sam, wait, I'll help!" She grabbed at Tucker's collar, pulling him back. He yelped, and collided with the floor as she ran out the door, hastily apologizing and pulling a disoriented Sam and Danny behind her.

Tucker groaned and got up, blinking at all the staring students.

"What? Never seen a tech geek before?" He snapped, getting a helping hand from a reluctant Dani. She glanced away, mumbling,

"He brought it on himself." To her surprise (and to the kids' and Ms. Sanderson's) he grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure. He always manages to do the stupid thing, good ol' Dan. I'm not going to lecture you on stopping, I just think it would be easier to change your image than his. I mean, when I started being called Bad Luck Tuck, it was easier for me to change my clothes than the bullies that called me that." Tucker shrugged.

"It's cool as long as you don't go goth. Changing who you are is a lot more different than changing clothes." Dani nodded thoughtfully.

"Besides, the whole hair-dying thing? Comedic gold!" Tucker raised his hand in a high-five and Dani slapped it, grinning. Ms. Sanderson coughed in a disapproving way and they both turned to her guiltily.

"Hahah, Hey Ms. S!" Tucker chuckled nervously. Ms. Sanderson crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in the classic pose of 'Is that really the mature thing you're doing?'. Tucker chuckled nervously again.

Everyone in the class grinned at the interaction, knowing Ms. Sanderson all too well. The door opened and everyone glanced towards it. A sulky Danny strolled in. His hair, mostly white now, still had soft tints of color. Sam smacked him on the head and he whimpered again.

"Geez, I'm sorry, but this is about as good as it's gonna get Danny." She said, running her hands through his hair gently.

"What, no pet names?" Dani murmured. Tucker smirked as they both turned and glared at her, faces red.

"Shhh! Do you want someone to hear you?" Danny snapped at her. The class looked on quizzically, not hearing under their shushed voices except for the tones. Ms. Sanderson and Lily groaned. The Phantoms seemed to be at it again.

"I was being quiet!" Dani snapped back, voice rising.

"Not quiet enough!" Danny yelled back.

"Both of you **shut up**!" Sam roared, effectively silencing both halfas. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"She is like me."

"Told you." Dani muttered.

"She/he started it." Both of them grumbled in unison. Dani let out a shriek which startled everyone.

"Not again!" She yelled. Everyone stared, unsure how to take her outburst.

"What **is** this about, Dani?" Danny asked, sighing. He was sincerely bemused. However, Dani was still on edge. She opened her mouth and he braced himself.

"None of your-" She started. Then she and Danny were gone. No big poof, no magical dissolving, just gone. Everyone blinked so their eyes would readjust, but no one stood there.

Sam jumped, finding empty space where her boyfriend had been, as did Tucker for Dani.

"What-how?" Ms. Sanderson sputtered. Jazz ran to where her brother had been, waving her hand cautiously over the area (in case he decided to rematerialize and she ran him over like a freight train). She knelt at the ground, looking for any burn marks to show her brother had spontaneously combusted (hey, what couldn't happen in Amity?), and found a small square card lying there. An even smaller picture was drawn in a deep blue ink delicately across the paper. She squinted for a moment then sighed, eyes narrowed.

"You little trickster…" She grumbled, handing the card to a pale Sam.

"What is it, Jazz?" She too scrutinized the card carefully, then let loose a huge breath. Her expression turned dark(er).

"What is it? Are they alright?" Sam and Jazz shared both annoyed and amused expressions. Tucker walked over and they handed him the card, which he looked at and started laughing.

"I never thought he'd give a calling card! It's like the Bat Sign!" Tucker chuckled. Seeing the group growing restless, they hastily assured them.

"They're fine. At least, they should be. Last time I checked he no longer wanted to terminate Danny…" Tucker said, tapping his chin. "But how come I didn't get to go along? I wanted to take a look around the Clock Tower again, align my PDA to the hundredth of a second with the correct time! Geez, Dan, when you leave a brother behind-"

"Oh shut it, Tuck." Sam said, grabbing the card out of his hand. She turned to the pale group of classmates.

"He's fine. We're gonna go make sure. Thanks for having us Ms. S. Good-bye. Tucker, Jazz, come on." They headed for the door, and Jazz turned the handle only to be caught off guard when the door opened on its own, smacking her lightly as she stepped back in shock.

"Hey Ms. S, where are my Guitar Geeks, they're late for-oh." The agitated expression on Sam's face (the male) disappeared as he looked at the two familiar-looking high-schoolers, and one adorably confused-looking ginger-haired girl sitting on the floor. One ginger-haired girl who was now glaring at him darkly, hands reaching up to cup her nose. He found himself quickly regretting his decision not to knock.

"Errr, hi there."

"What are we here for, Clockwork?" Danny asked, not making eye contact with his sister as they were led through the building. Dani's eyes roamed over anything and everything as she took in the numerous clocks on her side. She never glanced her brother's way as they entered into the main room, instead choosing to observe the floating surfaces that displayed different settings.

"I'm afraid there is something serious going on than your feud, Danny. A ghost is about to die, and I need you to stop it." This got both of their attention.

"But, how can a ghost die if they're already dead?" Clockwork turned to the both of them grimly.

"A spectral being is kept together by a sort of aura, a band of electoplasm. If a part of that being is separated from the rest of it, that band of ectoplasm can fall apart without the whole being supporting it. The spectral being will disband, and it's not a painless experience." Clockwork pointed their attention to one of the surfaces, raising a hand over one. Inside it, he dark-haired man appeared, holding its head in pain, crouching against a wall. He stood up, and lifted his head, and the two halfas gasped. He pushed off a wall and walked away, the camera zooming out to show Casper Middle.

The screen wavered as Clockwork waved his hand again, and this time showed one ghost, crouching, also holding his head in pain. He raised his head and screamed as part of his face started to turn green and gooey. A female ghost ran over and placed her hands over his disfigured face, hands glowing green. The face quickly reassembled itself. Clockwork turned to the two shocked ghosts solemnly.

"I'm afraid the clock is ticking, no pun intended. Shadow must be returned to Johnny." The screen went black.

"Otherwise both parts of Johnny 13 will be doomed."

**HAHAHA. AND YOU THOUGHT SAM WAS PUT IN THERE JUST AS A FILLER CHARACTER. WELL U WERE WROOOOOONG. MUAHAHAHAHAHA. No, Sam (the male) is not a filler character. Don't remember who Sam is? Read agaaaiiiin. Muahahahahaha. Yes, I realize I do not deserve the right to evil-laugh. Muahahahaha, that's how rotten I am. I DO IT ANYWAAAYYYY. I just realized there might be confusion about Sam the male and Sam the female. Hahahahahadarrrrnnniittttt. Meh. Whatever. If you have a way for me to make it less confusing (without changing his name), let me know! Thanks!**

**Artgirl4**


	19. Sticky Spandex Part 4

**Sticky Spandex Part 4**

Both Phantoms stood, staring at the scene as both parts of Johnny 13 staggered about, too shocked to remember they were mad at each other.

"H-how?" Danny managed. Dani nodded fervently in support of the question.

"Shadow doesn't have a human-looking form! ...Does he?" Dani asked, tearing her gaze away. Clockwork nodded, still looking grim.

"You are correct. Shadow doesn't have a human form, at least, he wasn't **supposed **to have one." Seeing Danny nod for him to continue, he explained, "You captured Shadow when you fought Dan." Both Phantoms automatically shuddered at the memory.

"However, you left the thermos behind, at the cage. It was something even I managed to overlook, until the events happened to unfold. Spectra went looking for the cage, hoping to find it useful somehow. You see, it still retained its ectoplasm-sucking abilities. When Spectra touched the cage, it took some of her ectoplasm, her entity, in a way." Both Phantoms looked confused.

"You mean…her youth?" Danny tried. Clockwork nodded.

"Spectra has positive energy that retains her young age. However, that energy was taken by the cage, leaving her older and giving the cage power. Shadow was unfortunately the only being close enough, as Spectra fled."

"So that's Shadow's worst fear?" Dani asked, pointing at the Human-Shadow. Clockwork paused.

"Not quite. That isn't just his fear, it's Shadow now." Both Phantoms' eyes widened.

"You mean, the cage turned **him** into his worst fear**?**" Danny said hoarsely, shocked.

"Yes, that's it exactly. Shadow was caught in the crossfire of the ectoplasmic energy. It was too strong for your thermos, destroying it. Shadow already has the melding ability, which caused the ectoplasmic cage to meld with him. It turned him into his worst fear. A human, and also a good one." Dani raised a hand, stopping Clockwork's explanation.

"But if Shadow's good now, then why do we need to change him back?" Clockwork shook his head.

"It's not that easy I'm afraid. The Human Shadow can't suppress his real self. And Spectra's youth can't make him a **real **human. You can't give life like that. Slowly, Shadow's going mad. His inside is telling him to be bad luck, while his new self is trying hard to be good. On top of that, he's living in the sun, which is slowly destroying him. Shadow can't last too long in the light, it's against his nature as well."

"But if Shadow goes, then Johnny will go too, right? Why not just…I don't know, let that happen?" The second Danny said those words, he felt a twinge of dread…and surprisingly, guilt. Clockwork sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Dani rubbed the back of her neck, feeling anxious.

"There are many different types of ghosts. One type of ghosts is the memories of dead people. Despite what people think, when someone dies, they don't necessarily become a ghost. But sometimes all the feelings they had still retained, after death, are stripped from them and created as a ghost so that they can pass on unhindered.

"However, those strong feelings aren't always warm affectionate ones. Sometimes, they can be twisted or harsh. They are allowed to grow as a ghost. But no matter what these ghosts feel, this is their final destination. They usually won't move on unless they come upon a revelation that changes how they feel, or they simply lose their will and fade away. The latter is more common, while the former is much more rare, I'm afraid. And if a ghost is destroyed, unfortunately, there is no place for them to go. They die like a human being…and that's it." Clockwork's eyes were far away.

"It's a horrifying thing. It's not painless, and it's scary for the ghost." Clockwork looked at them both with a grave face.

"You wouldn't wish it on anyone." Danny and Dani shared a glance. They might not have been on the best of terms right them, but they wouldn't let that get in the way of doing what was right. At least, Danny hoped.

"What do we have to do?"

LINEBREAKSAREMYWORLD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where are they?" Tucker asked, checking his PDA again. Sam shrugged, stirring some tea. Jazz didn't bother responding, still rubbing her nose, which now had a pink butterfly band-aid across it. Her eyes narrowed darkly, still harboring a grudge against the admittedly-handsome guy that had slammed a door in her face. Granted, it was a mistake, but what kind of guy didn't knock first anyway?

All three of them were in the Phantoms's apartment, figuring Clockwork would drop them off either there or at the Fenton's. Currently, they were too tired to explain the situation to the Fenton parents.

Sam sighed, taking a long sip of her green tea. She bit her lip, reaching into her pocket to fiddle with her phone. It wouldn't matter, she was sure, to try to call Danny. After all, he was probably in a world outside time…

All three teens startled out of their thoughts when there was a large crash, followed by two consecutive "Oww..."s. The trio shared a glance before jumping away from the counter, and opening the door into the living room.

Danny groaned from his position by the couch, sprawled across the floor, his sister deposited just-as-gently on top of him. Both Phantoms rubbed their heads, with identical grimaces.

"Danny!" Sam ran to him, pulling him into a hug. Danny blinked, then grinned goofily, hands reaching to wrap around her. Sam jerked back before he could, coughing. His expression became dejected. Dani ignored the two and took Tucker's offered hand, pulling herself up. Both were still in ghost form.

"So, how'd it go?" Tucker asked. Dani shrugged, hand withdrawing from behind her head.

"You know, same ol'. Have to save Johnny 13 before he disentigrates into ectoplasmic goop, the works." Tucker and Jazz nodded, before realizing her words and staring. Dani grinned, then looked quizzically at Jazz.

"Hey, what happened to your nose?" She asked. Jazz scowled.

-TIMEPASSESANDLIFECONTINUES-

"So, let me get this straight." Lily said, passing the basketball to her friend. Alex dribbled the ball a few times, passing it to Kevin, who managed to get the ball into his face. He fell down, the others too focused on Dani to notice.

"You need to find this "Shadow" guy, who currently looks like a human, and somehow connect him back to the other part of him, a schmuck called Johnny 13, or he'll be destroyed in a horrible, gruesome, excruciatingly painful process. Correct?"

Dani nodded, while Alex helped up a woozy Kevin. She passed the ball back to Lily, who took careful aim and tossed it into Alex, making both boys fall down with a yelp.

"How can you possibly find one ghost among so many humans?" Lily asked. Dani shrugged, picking up the basketball as it rolled past her.

"I don't know. We know what he looks like, at least, so that should help. He's also apparently set his sights on Danny and me, something about the ghost/evil part of him influencing where he goes. If we stick around the school, we might be able to find him." Lily caught the ball as Coach Teslaff blew the whistle that gym was done. They walked past the two fallen boys who were struggling to get up, Lily accidentally stepping on Alex and continuing. Alex groaned, collapsing against Kevin who yelped and hit the floor again.

"But didn't your brother tell you not to fight ghosts without him?" Dani shrugged while Lily scowled.

"That's what makes it so much fun." Dani grinned.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO WORTHLESS MAGGOTS DOING?" Coach Teslaff roared behind them. Alex was draped over Kevin, both sprawled against the gym floor. Both boys groaned in answer.

"Uhh, practicing our lay-downs?" Alex asked weakly, covered by Teslaff's shadow. When there was no response, he winced.

-WHYCAN'TIACTUALLYUSELINEBREAKS-

Danny groaned, head down and against the table. Team Phantom was currently eating lunch outside, Valerie having gone to the cafeteria to eat with Star.

"Affontphetfhyfeeseadathmee" Danny muttered against his arm.

"Come again?" Sam asked, spooning salad into her mouth. Tucker patted his back.

"He says he doesn't get why Dani's mad at him." He translated. Danny grunted.

"And that?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That, dear Sam, is the translation of an ancient syllable of boy's language, meaning something like frustration or madness."

"In other words, you don't know."

"Not a clue." Tucker admitted. Danny eyed them both and Sam took another bite of her salad.

"Come on Danny, it's the experimentation phase. Every kid's gotta have it. Even half-human cloned ones." She said with a smile. Danny raised his head with a sigh.

"I know Sam, it's just…when does it stop?" He whined in a very unmanly way. Sam and Tucker shared a look, then started laughing. Danny blinked, bewildered.

"Wha-what?" Something shivered up his throat. Both teens stopped laughing when Danny's ghost sense appeared. Immediately all three tensed, looking for a ghost through all the kids lounging around outside.

"Cover me." Danny muttered. He slipped under the table smoothly, both kids crossing their arms and leaning against the table to cover as it flashed. Danny Phantom intangibly floated up through it, invisible as well.

"Now, where are you?" He muttered, tapping Tucker on the shoulder. Tucker reached into his pocket and passed the thermos up.

"Good luck Dude." He murmured. The thermos disappeared, along with the faint chill. Danny was gone.

-HEYEVERYBODYLOVESLINEBREAKS-

Dani reached into her pocket of her jeans, grasping her cell phone. She knew a call would come eventually. Shadow was too close, to intent on tracking Danny. He would get close, and then they would have to capture him. For once, Dani actually relished the chance to get out of school. She had been fidgety all day, too eager to find Shadow. She was having a hard time concentrating on anything else. School today had been almost as stifling as being in the apartment with Danny.

Dani bit back a cry of frustration. Why couldn't her brother leave her alone? She didn't want to look like him and she didn't want to be like him. Couldn't he understand that? Instead, all he did was reinforce his views on her. He suffocated her, wouldn't leave her alone, and even though she had spent so much time away from him-

She was still him.

Dani bit her lip, feeling her eyes glow brighter with her anger. He'd never understand, she supposed, biting back a harsh laugh. He was the **original**. She was just the **copy. **He had a freedom to be whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted, but she, she found herself being him.

What was she, in the end, besides him? Did she even have a personality all her own? Or was she just a replica? Just genes picked out by Vlad in the hopes of having Danny, trait for trait? She felt tears fill her eyes, remembering her family's easy acceptance of her. They hadn't known her yet, and she gasped, her eyes glazed with the realization. Had they merely accepted her because of her looks? Because she looked like Danny?

In the end, was all she was to anyone a female Danny?

Dani crouched, hands over her ears, wanting to stop the onslaught of mean thoughts that wanted to torment her. She wanted to be her own person, so desperately. That was why she had left. But the quiet call for a family, for a brother, had brought her back. The need to be loved fought with the need for independence. She felt like she had to choose, and it hurt.

"Dani, are-are you okay?" Dani looked up into the concerned eyes of Kevin. Realizing she was crouching in the empty hallway, she stood up, brushing the dust off her jeans.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks Kevin." She flashed him a quick smile and the boy flushed. "Why are you still out, anyway?" She asked, turning in the direction with a silent gesture for him to come with her. He started walking to0, shrugging.

"I take l-longer to change." He murmured, fingering his backpack strap. Dani glanced at him quizzically and he flushed again. "It takes a while to get my combo from the inside out." He said sincerely, causing Dani to gape at him.

"Wait, they lock you in your locker?" She asked, feeling outraged. She knew how it felt, thanks to Danny's memories, but it was weird to actually hear about it happening. Kevin seemed to find this embarrassing, for he blushed again and looked away.

"Yea-yeah… I don't mind really, they're just ventilating." Dani cocked her head, and Kevin sighed.

"Err, ventilating their anger. Most of those kids need something to take their frustration out on. I'm just the nearest target, I guess." His voice got quieter and squeakier towards the end, but she got it.

"Why would you let them do that to you?" She asked, incredulous. Kevin shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets with a red flush settled across his cheeks.

"I don't know. I'm not all that brave D-Dani." His head jerked upwards, meeting her eyes for a few seconds before glancing back down. "I'm not like you." Dani stared at him, mouth open.

"Don't be stupid, I'm not-" She sputtered. Kevin smiled at her.

"Yeah, it's part of what makes you so c-cool." Dani continued to state, slackjawed, and Kevin's smile got smaller, his face, redder.

"I mean, you came here and you weren't afraid or anything. You don't let people make fun of you. Even though you're a-a-a ghost and all, you don't care. You're yourself…and you're not afraid to be." He bit his lip for a second, then glanced down at his watch, paling.

"I have a history class, so, um, I'll see you later!" He scurried down the hall, hitching his bag up higher on his shoulder. Dani watched him leave, speechless.

_"You're not afraid to be yourself…"_

Her phone rang, sudden in the silent hallways. She was late for class already, but with a shrug she took it out and popped it open.

"Dani here."

_"Dani! It's Jazz! There's a ghost attack by the high school, Danny left half an hour ago and he's still not back. I think it's Shadow!"_

"…"

_"Dani!"_

_ "…"_

_ "…Dani?"_

DP&DP&DP&DP&DP&DP&DP&DP&DP&DP&DP

Danny smashed into the concrete, wincing as he eyed the man with fists of steel. Shadow's human form looked pretty, well, human, if it wasn't for the completely pupil-less red eyes he seemed to have taken. Also, there was no way his hair could stay in that swept to the side position, no matter how much product you put in it.

He opened his mouth to give this witty comment, but only a yelp came out when Shadow's massive boot crushed the sidewalk next to him.

"Hey, can't we just, I don't know, talk this over?" Danny asked, paling and rolling as the boot went for his head.

"Okay, maybe not." He said, observing his opponent. Shadow seemed almost feral, baring his teeth, hands clenched like a demon. Or, as a better comparison, like a person possessed.

"Dark…Kill…" Shadow grunted, and Danny took a few more steps back.

"I really hope you aren't talking about me. I mean, there's plenty of other things worth killing out there!" Danny gestured to the wide expanse, but Shadow merely snarled and threw himself at the ghost, who once again yelped and flew upwards. Shadow however, was as fast as, well, a shadow, and he grabbed the ghost boy's boot, spinning him and smacking him back into the ground.

"Come on Fenton, he's human right now. Human!" Danny reminded himself. In fact, Shadow wasn't looking too hot. He was pale, and sweaty, his chest heaving. _It must be the sun, having an effect on him_. Danny thought, brow furrowed. He almost didn't notice the ghost-turned-man getting ready to charge at him again.

"Look out doofus!" Danny's head snapped up as Shadow's head snapped back with the force of Dani's blow. He let out a screech of confusion, making both Phantoms wince. Dani grimaced, rubbing her hand.

"Note to self. Stop punching things." She flew backwards to Danny, helping him up. "So, what's the plan?" She was still acting pretty cold, but at least she was cooperating, Danny noticed with a relieved sigh.

"Uh, beat the bad guy?" Danny offered. Dani sighed. "Bad plan." She responded. Both Phantoms screamed as a black tendril shot out between the two of them, hitting the wall far behind them. They turned their heads slowly towards the brick wall. Slowly, it cracked, becoming a web of cracks. Then, in front of their eyes, the entire wall collapsed into a pile of rubble. A man that had been behind the wall, on a toilet with a newspaper fortunately in front of his privates, blanched, not making a sound.

Both Phantoms slowly turned their heads the other way. The tendril was, unfortunately, coming from Shadow. Little black tentacle-like things seemed to be coming from the man, twisting and twirling in the air. Shadow looked even more enraged, the red completely taking over his eyes. Both Phantoms gulped.

"How about, stay alive?" Danny suggested weakly.

"Good plan! Good plan!" Dani screamed, both of them shooting up into the sky as Shadow sent the black tendrils after them. They crisscrossed, the tentacle separating and each one following a separate Phantom. Both Phantoms kept flying, then swung down and got closer to the ground. They flew, an inch above the ground, occasionally checking back to see the tentacle still following them.

"Danny! Remember that cartoon we watched a long time ago!"

"Not the time Dani!" Danny huffed.

"No, the one with superman, and the heat-tracking missiles!"

"This is kinda different Dani, they're not gonna explode if they touch something!" Danny yelled back.

"I know that! We just need to distract them!" Dani snapped.

"How?" Dani smirked, though her brother couldn't see it.

"How do you tie a shoe?" She shouted. Danny paused in his answer, dodging the tentacle as it bent a streetlight in half. He gulped.

"Knot the shoelaces!" He answered. Both Phantoms met in the middle, smirking.

"I call right lace." Dani said instantly. "I got left." Danny replied. Both Phantoms saw the tentacles coming for them, and grinned, changing direction and blasting forward. The tentacles just missed, following their Phantom and crisscrossing over each other.

Danny and Dani both looped. They crossed. They knotted. The tentacles followed them through it all, and Shadow found himself yanked forward. He screeched again, making the two ghosts clutch their ears, but still smile victoriously. Around Shadow was a perfect bow, his tentacles squirming and restraining him.

"We make a good team." Danny said, cautiously, as they landed. Dani didn't answer, walking forward. Danny uncapped the thermos as they approached Shadow, sucking in the growling ghost.

"Um, I'll see you later? Or do you need me to come in and tell them you were working with me-"

"I'll be fine." Dani said softly. Danny watched her turn away, start walking away, and he reached forward, grabbing her arm.

"No, Dani, listen. What happened? You've been acting weird ever since the whole cage accident. Did, I don't know, did **he** scare you?" Dani turned back, eying her brother as he looked at her, worried.

"Is that why you're avoiding me?" He said softly, his grip on her loosening. Dani blinked.

"You think I'm…because of Dan?" Danny flinched, and Dani rolled her eyes. "It's not about you." And then Danny said a bad word, and Dani eyed him in shock.

"Then what is this about, Dani? I won't know if you don't talk to me!"

"Well maybe I don't want you to know! Maybe I don't want to talk to you!" Danny flinched back again, like he'd been slapped. But then his gaze hardened, along with his grip.

"Well too bad." Then he picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder, and started flying.

"Let go of me!" Dani shrieked, memories of being trapped in Vlad's mansion rising, unbidden. She struggled, shrieking and yelling, and feeling helpless all over again. _Only this time, I can't call for Danny_… She shrieked again, pounding his back in desperation.

Danny phased through the door of their apartment, tossing her on the couch. He opened his cell phone and dialed a number, glaring at Dani in a way she'd never seen before. She didn't move.

"Hi, Ms. Sanderson?" Danny asked, his voice low. "Oh yes, don't worry about Dani-she's with me. Yes, it was a ghost…No, she's fine…Listen, I'm pulling her out for the day, if that's okay. Yes, I…Yeah, I am a little tired. No, thank you. Thank you. We'll be fine. But, we just…we have some things to work out…Yes, she'll be in school tomorrow. Okay. Thanks again. Good-bye." Danny sighed, hanging up.

"Why did you do that?" Dani asked, hatred in her tone.

"Because we need to talk." Danny snapped, surprising them both with his tone. Dani fell back against the couch, then crossed her arms.

"Now. What is this about? And tell me the truth, Dani." Danny commanded, walking closer to her and kneeling on the ground besides the couch. Dani met his eyes. He was completely serious.

"If it's not Dan, and it's not me, then what? Are there problems in school? Somebody bullying you?" Dani laughed, startling him.

"That's your problem, not mine, remember Fenturd?" She recalled one of Dash's favorite pet-names, and watched Danny's eyes narrow.

"Stop trying to change the subject, Dani. If it's not bullying, then what? Why are you so mad at me? What did I do?" Dani looked at Danny, looked at his eyes that were also hers.

"Danny?" Danny looked up, away from Dani and she let out a sigh of relief. Sam was standing in the doorway, looking confused, with a bottle of shampoo in her hand.

"Hey, I brought the rest of the dye remover...Did I come at a bad time?" She asked, sensing the tension. None of the Phantoms answered. Sam sighed, and walked over to Danny, pulling him up.

"Sam?" He asked, but she was already putting the bottle in his hand and pushing him towards his bedroom door. "Go take a shower Danny, we'll still be here when you're done."

"Wait, what?" Danny asked, confused. Sam made a shooing motion, and shut the door in his face. She turned towards Dani, who was also looking at her confusedly.

"So…" Sam said, suddenly feeling awkward. Dani raised an eyebrow, and Sam grit her teeth. She went to sit down on the couch, next to Dani, who was still eying her warily.

"Look, I. I've dyed my hair for about five years now." She admitted, running a hand through the black strands.

"So?" Dani asked, not understanding where this was going.

"So, I just wanted to say, I get rebellion. I've been rebelling for five years, trust me, if anyone understands rebellion, it's me. What I don't get is why you're doing it." Dani scowled. Sam shrugged, continuing to speak sincerely.

"I mean, I rebel 'cause my parents suck. They're always trying to force rules and debutante stuff and miss pretty princess down my throat and if maybe, just maybe one time I want to wear black instead of pink I get grounded for two months and they look at me like I'm about to elope with Danny and it's so frustrating-"

"Sam!" Sam stopped pretending to strangle her parents' throats in front of her and coughed. Damn, she'd started ranting again. Dani was still raising an eyebrow at her.

"Look, all I'm saying is that your family…they're pretty accepting. Why have you been trying so hard to get them mad?" She continued sheepishly.

"I'm not trying to get them mad!" Dani snapped at her. This time, Sam raised an eyebrow at her. She flushed.

"Maybe, maybe I'm tired of who I am, okay? Maybe I'm trying new things, trying to find out who **I am. **Instead, of just, just being **Danny!" **Dani clenched her fists as Sam's eyes widened. She paused for a few seconds, and then nodded.

"Oh. This is Big Brother Syndrome, isn't it?" Dani paused, searching her memories.

"What?" She snapped. Sam's smirked, for a second, eying her speculatively.

"Big Brother Syndrome. That's what Tucker and I used to call it behind Danny's back. Of course, for him it was Big Sister Syndrome." Still seeing Dani's puzzled face, Sam explained. "When Danny and we first met, he was pretty young. We all were. And Danny, well, he wanted to be just like Jazz. He did everything like her. He tried to use the big words she did, He word light blue shirts with black pants. He even tried reading her books, which wasn't very easy considering she was already at a college reading level." Sam sighed.

"What I'm saying was, he wasn't really his own person. Not really. He tried so hard to be Jazz that eventually he got frustrated when he realized he couldn't."

"But I don't want to be Danny!" Dani argued.

"Yeah, but it's all you've ever known. Dani, you're what, two years old now? Technically, all you've ever **known** is how to be Danny! And it was the same for Danny himself. He'd spent so long trying to be Jazz, he didn't know who he was besides that." Dani eyed her, trying not to be interested.

"So…what did he do?" Sam shrugged.

"It took time, you know? Tucker and I, we tried to get him into other things. It was our Danny Fenton Quest, we called it. Tucker and him even tried out for the baseball team, just to see if he liked baseball." Sam fidgeted with her hands for a second.

"Look Dani, I'm no psychologist. But, I do remember in the end, Danny didn't find himself by forcing himself to decide on something. He just…I don't know, he explored. He wasted time trying a ton of different things, and it was fun! Eventually, one day, we were walking into a toy store and he saw a spaceship model. And he wanted it so bad, that he took his Mom in the next day to buy it. And then it was like he couldn't get enough of spaceships, and stars, and NASA." Sam smiled, thinking of a younger Danny flying his rocket ship around while making the appropriate noises.

"You're saying…that I can't force myself to change?" Sam shrugged, relaxing against a couch cushion.

"I guess so, yeah. You've got all the time in the world Dani, why not try a little bit of everything first? Change will come, just…not right away, you know?" Dani paused for a second. She thought, maybe, if she reached back enough in her head, she could remember Professor Danny. Slowly though, Professor Danny had become Astronaut Danny.

"Yeah…I guess I do." Dani looked at Sam with wonder in her eyes. "Thanks, Sam." Sam shrugged, and reached inside her backpack.

"I figured though, there were some things you could start to change. Maybe, if you wanted to." She pulled out some stretchy material. "It's nothing much, but if you want to-"

"IT'S PERFECT! THANKS SAM!" Dani squealed, hugging Sam, who jumped in surprise. Dani flew straight into her room, intangible sliding through the door in her excitement. Danny slammed open his own in response to Dani's scream, a towel clenched around his waist, shampoo still in his hair. "Where's the ghost?" All he saw was Sam, face red. Slowly, his own face became red, and he quietly, slowly shut the door.

-DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP-

"Isn't it great!" Dani squealed, turning around in the body length mirror in Jazz's room. Jazz smiled while Danny held his face up with one hand, not visibly reacting whatsoever. Jazz scowled at him, and he eyed her like a dead man. He flopped against her bed with a sigh.

"It's great, Dani. You look fantastic." Jazz assured, still glaring at her brother.

"Yeah, you look great." Danny said monotonously. He coughed into his mouth, looking suddenly alert.

"What? A ghost? My sense just went off, well, I'll take care of this one Dani, don't worry yourself, bye!" He flew through the wall, and Jazz shook her head exasperatingly.

"Ignore Mr. Grouchy-pants, he's just mad that Sam didn't make him something too." Jazz said, smiling at Dani, who was still twirling, determined to view herself from all angles. Dani grinned, shrugging.

"Whatever. Hey, have you ever heard of the Plastic Coffee Cups? Alex made me listen to their band the other day, they're pretty good."

"No, I haven't. Hey, whatever happened with Shadow?" Dani shrugged.

"We gave him to Clockwork. Apparently, we got him just in time to save Johnny 13." Dani smoothed down the spandex. Her new costume now had a stylized d over her heart. The writing was neon green, while the background was white and so was her collar. The shirt once again showed her stomach, but instead of bare stomach, green netting covered it. The ectoplasm wire was comfortable, and would also shield her. Her sleeves cut off at the top, her arms also covered in the netting. Her black gloves were cut off at the fingertips, a little bit of anti-ectoplasmic steel covering the knuckles (Sam knowing of Dani's tendency to punch first, ectoblast later).

Her pants were neon green and black, with neon green boots. The female phantom also had a white utility belt, and a pair of white goggles that fit comfortably over her eyes should she wish to go flying at extremely fast speeds. For now, they settled comfortably above her head.

Dani smiled again as Danny flew in, having apparently actually found a ghost on his way to his imaginary flight. A few twigs stuck out of his hair, but he seemed rather satisfied, based on the victorious look on his face. He floated inside, and picked up a CD, taking a look at it before crinkling his nose in disgust.

"The Plastic Coffee Cups? Yuck!" Dani frowned at him.

"Be nice, Danny, Alex lent Dani that CD." Jazz warned. Danny made a face, but put it down.

"I wouldn't listen to that, it's pretty bad." He said.

"Well I liked it." Dani said petulantly. Then blinked suddenly.

"You…don't?" Danny reclined on Jazz's bed, throwing an ectoplasmic ball up and down. He took great care not to hit the ceiling with it (Jazz had already torn into him for the first burn mark…ouch). "Nah, it's too indie for me." But Dani didn't seem to hear him, smile growing.

"I like it and you don't! I like it and you don't!" Danny scowled.

"Gee, Danny, way to take my opinions so highly." Dani just grinned grabbing the CD. "I'm gonna go listen to this again, right now!" She zoomed out of the room, and Jazz also flopped against the bed. The teens winced as the overly loud music started pouring from the room down the hall.

"KEEP IT DOWN!" Both of them yelled. Then they paused, and stared at each other.

"When did we get so old, Danny?" Jazz asked, stretching with a yawn.

"I dunno Jazz. I dunno." Danny shook his head, brow furrowed.

And then he sneezed.

**FIN**


End file.
